A recently published real-world cohort study demonstrated that vedolizumab, an anti-integrin antibody, is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The FINVEDO study showed high treatment persistence and improvements in disease activity, even in the case of refractory disease, for IBD patients treated with vedolizumab.
To date, approximately 50,000 patients are living with IBD in Finland. The disease is characterized by a chronic inflammation of the gut, and most common forms are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Biological therapy with vedolizumab inhibits T cell migration to inflamed gut tissue – offering a novel way to treat IBD.
Clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and tolerability of vedolizumab therapy. However, the highly selected patient populations and strict treatment protocols of the trials do not demonstrate the real-world clinical practice.
MedEngine participated in this unique nationwide chart review study, which was conducted in close collaboration with gastroenterologists from 27 Finnish centers. Notably, the FINVEDO cohort reached almost complete nationwide coverage; altogether, 247 adult IBD patients treated with vedolizumab were included. A majority of the patients had severe, treatment refractory IBD with a long disease history.
According to the study, treatment persistence at 6 months was 75% for CD patients and 66% for UC patients. A significant amount of treatment persistent patients demonstrated endoscopic healing of the gut, which is seen as one of the key goals for IBD therapy. At 6 months post-treatment initiation, 42% of CD patients and 73% of UC patients, who were treatment persistent, achieved clinical remission.
Collectively, the FINVEDO study indicates that in real-world clinical practice, vedolizumab is an effective and well-tolerated option for IBD patients.
The study was sponsored by Takeda Oy (Finland).
Reference
Ylisaukko-oja T, Aaltonen J, Nuutinen H, et al. High treatment persistence rate and significant endoscopic healing among real-life patients treated with vedolizumab – a Finnish Nationwide Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Study (FINVEDO). Scand J Gastroenterol. 2018 Feb;53(2):158-167. DOI: 10.1080/00365521.2017.1416160.
