Infliximab Treatment Persistence among Japanese Patients with Chronic Inflammatory Diseases: A Retrospective Japanese Claims Data Study

Actual Use of Budesonide Enteric-Coated Capsules for Crohn's Disease in Japan: Analysis of Health Insurance Big Data

Using a large health insurance database in Japan, we examined the real-world usage of budesonide enteric-coated capsules (BUD) in treating Crohn's disease. We analyzed data from the Japan Medical Data Center claims database for Crohn's disease patients prescribed BUD from April 2016 to March 2021, focusing on prescription status, adverse events (AEs), monitoring tests, and concomitant medications over 2 years following BUD initiation. Patients were categorized into two groups based on BUD usage duration: ≤1 year and >1 year. Of the 7364 registered patients, 1049 (14.2%) were prescribed BUD. Among the 562 followed for 2 years, 505 (89.9%) used BUD for ≤1 year and 57 (10.1%) for >1 year. Over 70% of the patients used at least one biologic, and more than 20% used at least two. The proportions of new thiopurine initiation were 22 and 9% in the ≤1-year and >1-year groups, respectively (p = 0.0181). We did not identify any obvious increase in AEs from long-term BUD use within the confines of our study design. However, regardless of prescription duration, over half of the patients lacked hepatitis B virus screening, glycated hemoglobin measurement, adrenal function quantification, or bone densitometry. Usage of strong CYP3A4 inhibitors was more frequent among patients in the BUD >1-year group. This study revealed that numerous Japanese patients received long-term BUD prescriptions. Although no apparent increase in AEs from long-term BUD was detected, we identified inadequate monitoring of AEs and drug interactions, as well as insufficient use of steroid-sparing agents.

Real-world biologic treatment patterns and healthcare resource utilization in psoriasis patients using an insurance claims database in Japan

BACKGROUND

With advent of newer treatments for psoriasis, real-world use of biologics in Japan is evolving.

METHODS

This retrospective study utilized data from patients with ≥1 psoriasis-related biologic claims record between January 2016 and December 2020 in Japan to evaluate treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and associated costs. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Of 1,614 eligible patients, 72.5% were male, 29.2% had comorbid hypertension and 26.6% had comorbid cardiovascular disease. Interleukin (IL)-17 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) inhibitors were commonly prescribed across lines of treatment, while IL-23 inhibitors were most considered for switches (92% of switches were from IL-12/23/IL-17/TNFα inhibitors). The overall mean adherence rate for all classes was 80.1%, but adherence varied across biologics. Infliximab and IL-23 inhibitor users exhibited optimal medical possession ratios, reflecting the best adherence rates. Overall HCRU (visits/patient-year) was 9.05 for outpatient visits, 0.09 for inpatient hospitalization, and 0.5 for psoriasis-related phototherapy. HCRU associated with hospitalization was slightly higher for bio-experienced patients and so was the overall costs per patient-year relative to bio-naïve patients.

CONCLUSION

Variable adherence rates observed suggest the need for improvement in treatment management with different biologics. Bio-experienced patients burdened by disease progression and treatment switches may result in increased HCRU.

Meta-analysis: Persistence of advanced therapies in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

The expanding options in advanced therapies for ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) present challenges in treatment selection. Persistence analysis assesses drug durability in real-world settings, acting as a surrogate marker for medication efficacy and tolerance. Unlike traditional comparative studies, persistence analysis provides insights extending beyond the initial year of treatment.

AIM

To provide real-world evidence on treatment effectiveness, tolerability and preferences of physicians and patients regarding various advanced therapies for IBD.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review of observational studies up to March 2023 assessing advanced therapies' persistence in UC and CD. Advanced therapies under examination included infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab, ustekinumab, golimumab, certolizumab and tofacitinib. We pooled the persistence of each agent and conducted a meta-analysis to compare the persistence of newer agents with traditional TNF inhibitors (TNFi)-specifically infliximab and adalimumab.

RESULTS

Among 63 observational studies, vedolizumab had the highest 1-year persistence in UC (73.8%, 95% CI: 70.0%-77.6%) and ustekinumab in CD (77.5%, 95% CI: 72.9%-82.1%). Compared to TNFi, vedolizumab demonstrated increased persistence with a relative risk (RR) of 1.30 (95% CI: 1.19-1.41) for UC and 1.14 (95% CI: 1.09-1.20) for CD at 1 year, while ustekinumab demonstrated a RR of 1.15 (95% CI: 1.07-1.23) for CD at 1 year. Vedolizumab exhibited sustained increased persistence in UC over 2 years compared to TNFi (RR: 1.33, 95% CI 1.14-1.54).

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis highlights the superior persistence of ustekinumab and vedolizumab over TNFi, and offers valuable insights for clinicians navigating the challenging landscape of UC and CD therapeutic choices.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Vedolizumab and Ustekinumab in Crohn's Disease Patients Who Failed Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor-α Treatment in Japan: An Observational Study Utilizing Claims Database

This study aimed to investigate whether the approved sequence of vedolizumab and ustekinumab impacts the results of previous observational studies conducted in the European Union (EU), comparing the effectiveness of these drugs in Crohn's disease (CD) patients who failed anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) treatment. We conducted this study in Japan, where the approved sequence of drugs is different from that of the EU. We extracted 256 patients diagnosed with CD, who had a history of anti-TNFα treatment and were prescribed either vedolizumab or ustekinumab, from JMDC claims database. The patients' backgrounds were adjusted by inverse probability of treatment weighting using propensity score. The primary outcome was treatment persistence. Secondary outcomes were a steroid-free period, time to hospitalization, and time to CD-related surgery. The hazard ratios (HR) for survival times were estimated using the Cox proportional hazard model. The treatment persistence (primary endpoint) was significantly longer for ustekinumab than vedolizumab (HR, 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.15-0.72). The results of the secondary endpoints were as follows: steroid-free period (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.10-1.48), time to hospitalization (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.60-1.91), or time to CD-related surgery (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.11-0.97). There were no outcomes indicating the superiority of vedolizumab. Our findings suggest that ustekinumab is a more effective treatment option than vedolizumab for CD patients who failed to anti-TNFα treatment, and this finding remains consistent across both Japan and the EU.

Long-term effectiveness and safety of infliximab-biosimilar: A multicenter Phoenix retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Infliximab (IFX) effectively treats patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IFX-biosimilar (IFX-BS) has the same amino acid sequence as that of the IFX originator, and its increasing use is expected to reduce national healthcare costs. Long-term efficacy and safety of IFX-BS in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) have not been completely investigated.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, multicenter observational study of patients with IBD who received IFX-BS treatment at three hospitals between October 2016 and April 2022. Clinical data were collected from electronic medical records and evaluated for achieving clinical remission (CR) using Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) and partial Mayo (pMayo) score, persistency of long-term IFX-BS administration, and clinical response rate in the bio-naïve and bio-failure groups.

RESULTS

A total of 117 patients with IBD (90 CD and 27 UC) were included. The study findings indicated that both bio-naïve and bio-failure groups of patients with UC showed similar effectiveness of IFX-BS. The treatment persistence rate in patients with CD was significantly higher in the bio-naïve (P = 0.042) and switch (P = 0.010) groups than in the bio-failure group. In the former two groups, the treatment persistence rate was high at two years after administration (more than 80%). In patients with UC, the findings indicated higher treatment persistence rate in the switch group than in the bio-naïve group. Univariable and multivariable analyses for treatment persistence rate showed that the albumin level at the initial IFX-BS administration and groups (bio-naïve, bio-failure and switch) were effective factors for patients with CD. Adverse events were reported in 18 patients (15.4%).

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates the long-term effectiveness and safety of IFX-BS. In addition to the favorable remission induction in the bio-naïve and bio-failure groups, we demonstrated remission maintenance and treatment persistence rates beyond two years. Albumin level and groups were associated with better treatment persistence in patients with CD.