Clinician’s Guide to Using Ozanimod for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

The emergence of advanced therapies (eg, biologics, Janus kinase inhibitors) over the past few decades has revolutionized the treatment of ulcerative colitis. However, the limitations of these therapies leave an unmet need for safer and more effective or convenient treatment options. There is growing interest in the development of novel oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Ozanimod is an oral small molecule therapy that is approved in the United States, the European Union, and other countries as the first sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adults. This review provides guidance for ozanimod use for the treatment of ulcerative colitis based on the prescribing information, clinical trial and real-world data, and the authors’ clinical experiences. This guidance outlines patient characteristics to consider when deciding if ozanimod treatment is suitable and describes how to educate patients on risks and best practices. It also details the nature and frequency of monitoring during treatment, which should be adapted to the individual patient based on preexisting risk factors and events that possibly occur during treatment. This review also provides insights into the patient characteristics and clinical scenarios best suited for ozanimod treatment based on its efficacy and safety profile and the comparative risks with other therapies.

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