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Patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease that was resistant to TNF antagonists had an increased rate of response to induction with ustekinumab, as compared with placebo. Patients with an initial response to ustekinumab had significantly increased rates of response and remission with ustekinumab as maintenance therapy. (Funded by Janssen Research and Development; CERTIFI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00771667.).

In an analysis of data from Phase 3 studies of patients with moderate to severe CD, we found serum concentrations of ustekinumab to be proportional to dose and associate with treatment efficacy. Concentrations of ustekinumab did not seem to be affected by cotreatment with immunomodulators. Clinicaltrials.gov no. NCT01369329 (UNITI 1), NCT01369342 (UNITI 2), and NCT01369355 (IM-UNITI).

Background and Aims Following induction/maintenance treatment in the UNITI/IM-UNITI studies of ustekinumab for Crohn’s disease, patients entered a long-term extension for up to 5 years from induction. Efficacy through 152 and safety through 156 weeks are reported. Methods At IM-UNITI Week 44, 567 ustekinumab-treated patients entered the long-term extension and continued to receive blinded subcutaneous ustekinumab on their assigned dose interval, without any subsequent dose adjustment. Placebo-treated patients discontinued after study unblinding [after IM-UNITI Week 44 analyses]. Efficacy data in the long-term extension [LTE] were collected every 12 weeks [q12w] before unblinding and then at q12w/q8w dosing visits. Results Through Week 156, 29.6% of ustekinumab-treated patients discontinued. In an intent-to-treat analysis of randomised patients from IM-UNITI Weeks 0–152, 38.0% of ustekinumab induction responders receiving the drug q12w and 43.0% q8w were in remission at Week 152. Among patients entering the long-term extension in their original randomised groups, 61.9% of q12w and 69.5% of q8w patients were in remission at Week 152. Across all ustekinumab-treated patients [randomised and non-randomised] entering the long-term extension, remission rates at Week 152 were 56.3% and 55.1% for q12w and q8w, respectively. Safety events [per 100 patient-years] were similar among all ustekinumab-treated patients entering the long-term extension and placebo [overall adverse events 389.70 vs 444.17; serious adverse events, 18.97 vs 19.54; serious infections, 4.21 vs 3.97]. Rates of antibodies to ustekinumab through Week 156 remained low, 4.6% in all randomised ustekinumab-treated patients; lowest among patients in the original randomised q8w group [2/82, 2.4%]. Conclusions Continued treatment with subcutaneous ustekinumab maintained clinical response and remission through 3 years in a majority of patients who responded to induction therapy and was well-tolerated. ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01369355.

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