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Efficacy and Safety with Upadacitinib by Baseline Corticosteroid Use in Patients with Moderately to Severely Active
Marla C Dubinsky1, Geert D'Haens2, Olivier Dewit3
1Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Importance And Objective:
Upadacitinib, an oral, reversible Janus kinase inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD). Limiting corticosteroid exposure is an important goal in treating CD. This posthoc analysis evaluated the corticosteroid-sparing effects of upadacitinib in patients with CD.
Design And Setting:
This study included pooled data from two phase 3, multicenter, double-blind induction trials and one maintenance trial. Randomization was stratified by corticosteroid use at induction baseline, with a mandatory corticosteroid taper starting at induction week 4. Efficacy was evaluated by baseline corticosteroid use and by achieving corticosteroid-free outcomes through year 2 of maintenance therapy. Safety was also assessed.
Results:
At baseline, 34.7% (234/674) and 35.7% (124/347) of upadacitinib 45 mg and placebo-treated patients were taking corticosteroids, respectively. At induction week 12 and maintenance week 52, higher rates of upadacitinib-treated patients were corticosteroid-free among all patients and among patients with baseline corticosteroid use compared with placebo; upadacitinib-treated patients achieved higher rates of corticosteroid-free outcomes, compared with placebo, including corticosteroid-free clinical remission (stool frequency/abdominal pain score [SF/APS]: 42.7% vs 16.1%; CD activity index [CDAI]: 41.2% vs 23.4%) and corticosteroid-free endoscopic response (37.0% vs 8.1%), with similar results observed among responders to upadacitinib induction therapy at maintenance week 52. Corticosteroid-free outcomes were sustained through year 2 of maintenance therapy. The safety profile was similar to the overall population, with no new safety risks identified.
Conclusions And Relevance:
The results from pivotal studies demonstrated that upadacitinib effectively induced early and sustainable corticosteroid-free clinical remission with a manageable safety profile in patients with moderate-to-severe CD.
Clinical Trial Identifiers:
U-EXCEL, U-EXCEED, and U-ENDURE ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT03345849, NCT03345836, and NCT03345823.
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