Documented clinical experience was recently presented by Celltrion Healthcare’s satellite symposium during the 2014 United European Gastroenterology (UEGW) showing evidence that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — should be treated with the biosimilar monoclonal antibody (mAb) infliximab.
Infliximab is an anti-TNF therapy suitable for patients with IBD12; it is considered a therapy for controlling disease symptoms over the long term.
Biologic therapies for IBD are designed around particular proteins and enzymes that have been proven to be excessive, defective, or deficient in people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Biologic agents, unlike conventional treatment with corticosteroids and other therapies that tend to suppress the entire immune system, act very specifically with minor side effects.
Jørgen Jahnsen, Professor of Gastroenterology at University of Oslo in Norway, and a leading expert in the field of IBD, reported that his clinical experience of treating people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis with the first biosimilar mAb anti-TNFa approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) shows a very significant reduction in the disease activity. 26 patients with Crohn’s and 20 suffering with ulcerative colitis had a reduction in their disease activity at week 14; after that, they received 3 infusions.
Professor Jahnsen said in a Celtrion Healthcare press release: “Whilst biologics have become increasingly important as a treatment option in IBD they are also expensive which may mean that some patients have had limited access to them. The availability of a biosimilar anti-TNFa could contribute to improving patient access to advanced biologic treatments.”
It is expected that between 2007 and 2020, the use of biosimilars will result in overall savings of 11.8 billion and 33.4 billion Euros, with the greatest savings ranging from 1.8 to 20.4 billion Euros coming from biosimilar mAbs that cost between 10 and 30 percent less than traditional IBD therapies.
Celltrion Inc. is a leading biopharmaceutical company that specializes in monoclonal antibody biosimilars and novel biopharmaceuticals. “Advanced Therapeutics within Everyone’s Reach,” is the company’s working motto for finding equivalent and affordable biopharmaceuticals. The company is focused on the development of high quality biosimilars and new antibody therapeutics that target various viral diseases such as pandemic/seasonal influenzas and rabies.