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Background: Etrasimod is an oral, once-daily (QD), selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) 1,4,5 receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). It is known that non-serious treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) may not lead to UC drug discontinuation but can affect treatment tolerability., Objectives: This post hoc analysis evaluated the incidence of specific, common, non-serious TEAEs reported in the etrasimod UC clinical programme and the characteristics of affected patients., Design: Data included patients from the Placebo-controlled UC cohort (phase II OASIS, and phase III ELEVATE UC 52 and ELEVATE UC 12 trials) receiving QD etrasimod (2 or 1 mg) or placebo., Methods: Proportions and incidence rates (IRs; the number of patients with a TEAE divided by the total exposure in patient-years (PYs), per 100 PY) of Headache, Pyrexia, Nausea and Dizziness TEAEs were reported. Changes in heart rate among patients with Dizziness TEAEs were also evaluated., Results: Among 943 patients (etrasimod 2 mg, N  = 577 (276.7 PY); etrasimod 1 mg, N  = 52 (11.4 PY); placebo, N  = 314 (115.1 PY)), 48, 34, 27 and 21 patients experienced events of Headache, Pyrexia, Nausea and Dizziness, respectively. All events were non-serious; one patient treated with etrasimod was discontinued due to a Pyrexia TEAE. Numerically, IRs of Headache and Dizziness TEAEs were higher, and Nausea slightly higher, with etrasimod versus placebo (13.45 vs 8.63 per 100 PY, 6.52 vs 1.69 and 7.18 vs 5.13 per 100 PY, respectively); IRs were similar for Pyrexia. The duration of most TEAEs was 1-10 days., Conclusion: In the etrasimod UC clinical programme, all Headache, Pyrexia, Nausea and Dizziness events were non-serious. Headache and Dizziness were more frequent, and Nausea slightly more frequent, among patients receiving etrasimod versus placebo. The post hoc nature of this analysis is a limitation. These results reiterate the favourable safety profile and tolerability of etrasimod., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02447302; NCT03945188; NCT03996369., Competing Interests: C.W.L. has received speaker fees from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Ferring, Hospira, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer Inc., Shire, Takeda and Warner-Chilcott; has receiving consultant fees from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Gilead, GSK, Hospira, Iterative Scopes, Janssen, MSD, Oshi Health, Pfizer Inc., Pharmacosmos, Takeda, Topivert, Trellus Health and Vifor Pharma and has received research funding from AbbVie and Gilead. J.T. has received advisory board fees from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Janssen and Pfizer Inc.; has received research grants from AbbVie and Janssen and has received speaker fees from AbbVie, Galapagos, Janssen and Pfizer Inc. Y.L. has served on advisory committee/as a board member for AbbVie, Celltrion, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Pfizer Inc., Sandoz, Takeda and has acted as a consultant for AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Pfizer Inc. and Takeda. S.V. has received research grants from AbbVie, Galapagos, J&J, Pfizer and Takeda and has received speakers’ and/or consultancy fees from AbbVie, Abivax, AbolerISPharma, AgomAb, Alimentiv, Arena Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Cytoki Pharma, Dr Falk Pharma, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech-Roche, Gilead, GSK, Hospira, Imidomics, Janssen, J&J, Lilly, Materia Prima, Mestag Therapeutics, MiroBio, Morphic, MrMHealth, Mundipharma, MSD, Pfizer Inc., Prodigest, Progenity, Prometheus, Robarts Clinical Trials, Surrozen, Takeda, Theravance, Tillotts Pharma AG, VectivBio, Ventyx and Zealand Pharma. M.F., I.M., A.M., K.L., M.K. and J.W. are employees and shareholders of Pfizer Inc. M.G. is an employee and shareholder of Pfizer AG. E.V.L. has received consulting fees from AbbVie, Alvotech, Amgen, Arena, Astellas, Avalo Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celltrion Healthcare, Eli Lilly Fresenius Kabi, Genentech, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Gossamer Bio, Iota Biosciences, Iterative Health, Janssen, KSL Diagnostics, Morphic Therapeutic, Ono Pharma, Protagonist, Scipher Medicine, Sun Pharma, Surrozen, Takeda, TR1X and UCB Pharma; has received research support from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene/Receptos, Genentech, Gilead, Gossamer Bio, Janssen, Pfizer Inc., Takeda, Theravance and UCB Pharma and is a shareholder of Exact Sciences., (© The Author(s), 2024.)

Background and Aims: Despite intravenous (IV) vedolizumab being established for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the novel subcutaneous (SC) route of administration may provide numerous incentives to switch. However, large-scale real-world data regarding the long-term safety and effectiveness of this strategy are lacking., Methods: IBD patients on IV vedolizumab across 11 UK sites agreed to transition to SC injections or otherwise continued IV treatment. Data regarding clinical disease activity (Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index, partial Mayo score, and modified Harvey-Bradshaw Index), biochemical markers (C-reactive protein and calprotectin), quality of life (IBD control), adverse events, treatment persistence, and disease-related outcomes (namely corticosteroid use, IBD-related hospitalization, and IBD-related surgery) were retrospectively collected from prospectively maintained clinical records at baseline and weeks 8, 24, and 52., Results: Data from 563 patients (187 [33.2%] Crohn's disease, 376 [66.8%] ulcerative colitis; 410 [72.8%] SC, 153 [27.2%] IV) demonstrated no differences in disease activity, remission rates, and quality of life between the SC and IV groups at all time points. Drug persistence at week 52 was similar (81.1% vs 81.2%; P = .98), as were rates of treatment alteration due to either active disease (12.2% vs 8.9%; P = .38) or adverse events (3.3% vs 6.3%; P = .41). At week 52, there were equivalent rates of adverse events (9.8% vs 7.8%; P = .572) and disease-related outcomes. IBD control scores were equivalent in both IV-IV and IV-SC groups., Conclusions: Switching to SC vedolizumab appears as effective, safe, and well tolerated as continued IV treatment and maintains comparable disease control and quality of life as IV treatment at 52 weeks., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Long-term vedolizumab (VDZ) outcomes in real-world cohorts have been largely limited to 1-year follow-up, with few bio-naïve patients or objective markers of inflammation assessed., Objectives: We aimed to assess factors affecting VDZ persistence including clinical, biochemical and faecal biomarker remission at 1, 3 and 5 years., Design: We performed a retrospective, observational, cohort study., Methods: All adult inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients who had received VDZ induction for ulcerative colitis (UC)/IBD-unclassified (IBDU) were included. Baseline phenotype and follow-up data were collected via a review of electronic medical records., Results: We included 290 patients [UC n  = 271 (93.4%), IBDU n  = 19 (6.6%)] with a median time on VDZ of 27.6 months (interquartile range: 14.4-43.2). At the end of follow-up, a total of 157/290 (54.1%) patients remained on VDZ. The median time to discontinuation was 14.1 months (7.0-23.3). Previous exposure to ⩾1 advanced therapy, steroid use at baseline and disease extension (E3 and E2 versus E1) were independent predictors for worse VDZ persistence. Clinical remission (partial Mayo < 2) was 75.7% (171/226), 72.4% (157/217) and 70.2% (127/181) at years 1, 3 and 5, respectively. Steroid use during maintenance VDZ therapy occurred in 31.7% (92/290), hospitalization in 15.5% (45/290) and surgery in 3.4% (10/291). The rate of serious adverse events was 1.2 per 100 patient-years of follow-up., Conclusion: VDZ effectiveness appears enduring with favourable long-term safety profile. VDZ persistence was influenced by previous exposure to biologics/small molecules, disease distribution and steroid use at baseline in our study., Competing Interests: BG has served as acted as consultant to Galapagos and Abbvie and as speaker for Abbvie, Jansen, Takeda, Pfizer and Galapagos. NP has served as a speaker for Janssen, Takeda and Pfizer. Professor CWL has acted as a consultant to Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer, Galapagos, Bristol Myers Squibb, B.I., Sandoz, Novartis, GSK, Gilead, ViforPharma, Dr Falk, Trellus Health and Iterative Scopes; he has received speaking fees and travel support from Pfizer, Janssen, Abbvie, Galapagos, MSD, Takeda, Shire, Ferring, Hospira and Dr Falk. G-RJ has served as a speaker for Takeda, Janssen, Abbvie, Fresnius and Ferring. LAAPD has served on advisory board for Sandoz and Abbvie, and as a speaker for Janssen. CN has acted as a consultant to Galapagos. None of the other authors reported any conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s), 2024.)

Background: Upadacitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor, which has recently been approved for treating Crohn's disease. There are limited real-world studies on the outcomes of upadacitinib in Crohn's disease., Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the outcomes of upadacitinib in a real-world Crohn's disease cohort., Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study over a 2-year period across National Health Service (NHS) Lothian and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The primary outcome was treatment persistence at week 24. Secondary endpoints were corticosteroid-free clinical remission (Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI)<5) and biomarker remission (C-reactive protein (CRP)≤5 mg/L and faecal calprotectin (FCAL)<250 µg/g) at 12, 24 and 52 weeks. We recorded adverse events., Results: 135 patients commenced upadacitinib as of the 1 January 2024, of which 93 patients with active Crohn's disease were included with a minimum of 12 weeks follow-up. The median follow-up time was 25 weeks (IQR 15-42 weeks). 82% of the cohort had exposure to at least two classes of advanced therapies, and 52% had exposure to at least three classes of advanced therapies. Treatment persistence was 87.1% at week 12, 81.7% at week 24 and 62.8% at week 52. Rates of clinical remission were 64% (42/66), 48% (22/46) and 38% (8/21) at weeks 12, 24 and 52, respectively. Significant reductions in HBI, CRP and FCAL were observed during follow-up. 14% (13/91) had a hospitalisation due to Crohn's disease. Adverse events occurred in 40% (37/93) of the cohort, of which 12% (11/93) were serious., Conclusion: Upadacitinib was effective in a real-world, highly refractory, Crohn's disease cohort with good persistence., Competing Interests: Competing interests: BG has served as consultant to Galapagos and Abbvie and as speaker for Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer and Galapagos. NP has served as a speaker for Janssen, Takeda and Pfizer. JG has received grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, outside the submitted work. NAK has acted as a consultant to Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Falk, Janssen, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda and Tillotts, received speaking fees from Amgen, Celltrion, Falk, Janssen, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda and Tillotts and travel support from AbbVie, Falk, Janssen and Pharmacosmos. His institution has received grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Roche and Takeda. TA reports grants and non-financial support from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, grants from Biogen, grants from Celltrion Healthcare, grants from Galapagos NV, non-financial support from Immundiagnostik, personal fees from Biogen, grants and personal fees from Celltrion Healthcare, personal fees and nonfinancial support from Immundiagnostik, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from ARENA, personal fees from Gilead, personal fees from Adcock Ingram Healthcare, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Genentech, nonfinancial support from Tillotts, outside the submitted work. CWL has acted as a consultant to Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer, Galapagos, Bristol Myers Squibb, B.I., Sandoz, Novartis, GSK, Gilead, ViforPharma, Dr Falk and Iterative Health; he has received speaking fees and travel support from Pfizer, Janssen, Abbvie, Galapagos, MSD, Takeda, Shire, Ferring, Hospira and Dr Falk., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Biomarkers offer potential alternatives to endoscopies in monitoring ulcerative colitis (UC) progression and therapeutic response. This post hoc analysis of the ELEVATE UC clinical program assessed potential predictive values of fecal calprotectin (fCAL) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) as biomarkers and associated responses to etrasimod, an oral, once-daily, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P)1,4,5 receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately to severely active UC, in 2 phase 3 clinical trials., Methods: In ELEVATE UC 52 and ELEVATE UC 12, patients were randomized 2:1 to 2 mg of etrasimod once daily or placebo for 52 or 12 weeks, respectively. Fecal calprotectin/hsCRP differences between responders and nonresponders for efficacy end points (clinical remission, clinical response, endoscopic improvement-histologic remission [EIHR]) were assessed by Wilcoxon P-values. Sensitivity and specificity were presented as receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves with area under the curve (AUC)., Results: In ELEVATE UC 52 and ELEVATE UC 12, 289 and 238 patients received etrasimod and 144 and 116 received placebo, respectively. Baseline fCAL/hsCRP concentrations were generally balanced. Both trials had lower week-12 median fCAL levels in week-12 responders vs nonresponders receiving etrasimod for clinical remission, clinical response, and EIHR (all P < .001), with similar trends for hsCRP levels (all P < .01). For etrasimod, AUCs for fCAL/hsCRP and EIHR were 0.85/0.74 (week 12; ELEVATE UC 52), 0.83/0.69 (week 52; ELEVATE UC 52), and 0.80/0.65 (week 12; ELEVATE UC 12)., Conclusions: Fecal calprotectin/hsCRP levels decreased with etrasimod treatment; ROC analyses indicated a prognostic correlation between fCAL changes during induction and short-/long-term treatment response., (© 2024 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.)

Background: We sought to report the effectiveness of infliximab and adalimumab over the first 3 years of treatment and to define the factors that predict anti-TNF treatment failure and the strategies that prevent or mitigate loss of response., Methods: Personalised Anti-TNF therapy in Crohn's disease (PANTS) is a UK-wide, multicentre, prospective observational cohort study reporting the rates of effectiveness of infliximab and adalimumab in anti-TNF-naive patients with active luminal Crohn's disease aged 6 years and older. At the end of the first year, sites were invited to enrol participants still receiving study drug into the 2-year PANTS-extension study. We estimated rates of remission across the whole cohort at the end of years 1, 2, and 3 of the study using a modified survival technique with permutation testing. Multivariable regression and survival analyses were used to identify factors associated with loss of response in patients who had initially responded to anti-TNF therapy and with immunogenicity. Loss of response was defined in patients who initially responded to anti-TNF therapy at the end of induction and who subsequently developed symptomatic activity that warranted an escalation of steroid, immunomodulatory, or anti-TNF therapy, resectional surgery, or exit from study due to treatment failure. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03088449, and is now complete., Findings: Between March 19, 2014, and Sept 21, 2017, 389 (41%) of 955 patients treated with infliximab and 209 (32%) of 655 treated with adalimumab in the PANTS study entered the PANTS-extension study (median age 32·5 years [IQR 22·1-46·8], 307 [51%] of 598 were female, and 291 [49%] were male). The estimated proportion of patients in remission at the end of years 1, 2, and 3 were, for infliximab 40·2% (95% CI 36·7-43·7), 34·4% (29·9-39·0), and 34·7% (29·8-39·5), and for adalimumab 35·9% (95% CI 31·2-40·5), 32·9% (26·8-39·2), and 28·9% (21·9-36·3), respectively. Optimal drug concentrations at week 14 to predict remission at any later timepoints were 6·1-10·0 mg/L for infliximab and 10·1-12·0 mg/L for adalimumab. After excluding patients who had primary non-response, the estimated proportions of patients who had loss of response by years 1, 2, and 3 were, for infliximab 34·4% (95% CI 30·4-38·2), 54·5% (49·4-59·0), and 60·0% (54·1-65·2), and for adalimumab 32·1% (26·7-37·1), 47·2% (40·2-53·4), and 68·4% (50·9-79·7), respectively. In multivariable analysis, loss of response at year 2 and 3 for patients treated with infliximab and adalimumab was predicted by low anti-TNF drug concentrations at week 14 (infliximab: hazard ratio [HR] for each ten-fold increase in drug concentration 0·45 [95% CI 0·30-0·67], adalimumab: 0·39 [0·22-0·70]). For patients treated with infliximab, loss of response was also associated with female sex (vs male sex; HR 1·47 [95% CI 1·11-1·95]), obesity (vs not obese 1·62 [1·08-2·42]), baseline white cell count (1·06 [1·02-1·11) per 1 × 10 9 increase in cells per L), and thiopurine dose quartile. Among patients treated with adalimumab, carriage of the HLA-DQA1*05 risk variant was associated with loss of response (HR 1·95 [95% CI 1·17-3·25]). By the end of year 3, the estimated proportion of patients who developed anti-drug antibodies associated with undetectable drug concentrations was 44·0% (95% CI 38·1-49·4) among patients treated with infliximab and 20·3% (13·8-26·2) among those treated with adalimumab. The development of anti-drug antibodies associated with undetectable drug concentrations was significantly associated with treatment without concomitant immunomodulator use for both groups (HR for immunomodulator use: infliximab 0·40 [95% CI 0·31-0·52], adalimumab 0·42 [95% CI 0·24-0·75]), and with carriage of HLA-DQA1*05 risk variant for infliximab (HR for carriage of risk variant: infliximab 1·46 [1·13-1·88]) but not for adalimumab (HR 1·60 [0·92-2·77]). Concomitant use of an immunomodulator before or on the day of starting infliximab was associated with increased time without the development of anti-drug antibodies associated with undetectable drug concentrations compared with use of infliximab alone (HR 2·87 [95% CI 2·20-3·74]) or introduction of an immunomodulator after anti-TNF initiation (1·70 [1·11-2·59]). In years 2 and 3, 16 (4%) of 389 patients treated with infliximab and 11 (5%) of 209 treated with adalimumab had adverse events leading to treatment withdrawal. Nine (2%) patients treated with infliximab and two (1%) of those treated with adalimumab had serious infections in years 2 and 3., Interpretation: Only around a third of patients with active luminal Crohn's disease treated with an anti-TNF drug were in remission at the end of 3 years of treatment. Low drug concentrations at the end of the induction period predict loss of response by year 3 of treatment, suggesting higher drug concentrations during the first year of treatment, particularly during induction, might lead to better long-term outcomes. Anti-drug antibodies associated with undetectable drug concentrations of infliximab, but not adalimumab, can be predicted by carriage of HLA-DQA1*05 and mitigated by concomitant immunomodulator use for both drugs., Funding: Guts UK, Crohn's and Colitis UK, Cure Crohn's Colitis, AbbVie, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Napp Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and Celltrion Healthcare., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests CR reports receiving salary from the National Institute of Health Research outside the submitted work. RN reports receiving non-financial support from Immunodiagnostik. CWL has received consulting fees from AbbVie, Galapagos, Takeda, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, GSK, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, Amgen, and Iterative Health and payment or honoraria from AbbVie, Galapagos, Takeda, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, GSK, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion Healthcare, Amgen, and Fresnius Kabi. SS has received consulting fees from Takeda, AbbVie, Merck, Ferring, Pharmacosmos, Warner Chilcott, Janssen, Falk Pharma, Biohit, TriGenix, Celgene, and Tillots Pharma; payment or honoraria from AbbVie, Takeda, Celltrion Healthcare, Pfizer, Biogen, AbbVie, Janssen, Merck, Warner Chilcott, Falk Pharma, and Janssen; is chair of the Research Committee of the British Society of Gastroenterology; is chair of the Clinical Research Committee of the European Colitis and Crohns Organisation; and is co-director of research for the South Asian IBD Alliance. PMI reports research grants from Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, Pfizer, and Galapagos; personal payments from AbbVie, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Celltrion Healthcare, Elasmogen, Endpoint Health, Gilead, Janssen, Lilly, Pfizer, Sandoz, and Takeda; and travel support from Takeda, AbbVie, and Tillotts Pharma, outside the submitted work. RKR has received grants from Nestle, consulting fees from AbbVie, payment or honoraria from Tillotts Pharma and Janssen, and support for attending meetings or travel from Celltrion Healthcare. JRG reports grants from F Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, and Galapagos and non-financial support from Immundiagnostik outside the submitted work. TA reports grants or contracts from MSD, AbbVie, Hospira (Pfizer), Napp Pharmaceuticals, Celgene, Celltrion, F Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen, Nova Pharmaceuticals, Galapagos, Takeda, and Pfizer; consulting fees from Amgen, Celltrion, Janssen, and Eli Lilly; payment or honoraria from F Hoffmann-La Roche, Pfizer, and Takeda; and support for attending meetings or travel from Tillotts Pharma and Celltrion Healthcare. NAK reports institutional grants or contracts from AbbVie, Biogen, Celgene, Celltrion Healthcare, Galapagos, MSD, Napp Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Roche, and Takeda; personal consulting fees from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion Healthcare, Falk Pharma, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Takeda, and Tillotts Pharma; personal payments or honoraria from Amgen, Celltrion Healthcare, Falk Pharma, Galapagos, Janssen, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda, and Tillotts Pharma; support for attending meetings or travel from AbbVie, Falk Pharma, Janssen, and Pharmacosmos; participation in the Data Monitoring Committee for BEACON study; and is chair of the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Clinical Research Group. NC, SL, CB, BH, AT, RS, MB, and TJM decare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: We sought to determine whether six commonly used immunosuppressive regimens were associated with lower antibody responses after seasonal influenza vaccination in patients with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]., Methods: We conducted a prospective study including 213 IBD patients and 53 healthy controls: 165 who had received seasonal influenza vaccine and 101 who had not. IBD medications included infliximab, thiopurines, infliximab and thiopurine combination therapy, ustekinumab, vedolizumab, or tofacitinib. The primary outcome was antibody responses against influenza/A H3N2 and A/H1N1, compared to controls, adjusting for age, prior vaccination, and interval between vaccination and sampling., Results: Lower antibody responses against influenza A/H3N2 were observed in patients on infliximab (geometric mean ratio 0.35 [95% confidence interval 0.20-0.60], p = 0.0002), combination of infliximab and thiopurine therapy (0.46 [0.27-0.79], p = 0.0050), and tofacitinib (0.28 [0.14-0.57], p = 0.0005) compared to controls. Lower antibody responses against A/H1N1 were observed in patients on infliximab (0.29 [0.15-0.56], p = 0.0003), combination of infliximab and thiopurine therapy (0.34 [0.17-0.66], p = 0.0016), thiopurine monotherapy (0.46 [0.24-0.87], p = 0.017), and tofacitinib (0.23 [0.10-0.56], p = 0.0013). Ustekinumab and vedolizumab were not associated with reduced antibody responses against A/H3N2 or A/H1N1. Vaccination in the previous year was associated with higher antibody responses to A/H3N2. Vaccine-induced anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentration weakly correlated with antibodies against H3N2 [r = 0.27; p = 0.0004] and H1N1 [r = 0.33; p < 0.0001]., Conclusions: Vaccination in both the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons was associated with significantly higher antibody responses to influenza/A than no vaccination or vaccination in 2021-2022 alone. Infliximab and tofacitinib are associated with lower binding antibody responses to influenza/A, similar to COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibody responses., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

Introduction: Characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms including diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fatigue can significantly impact patient's quality of life. Therapeutic developments in the last 20 years have revolutionised treatment. However, clinical trials and real-world data show primary non-response rates up to 40%. A significant challenge is an inability to predict which treatment will benefit individual patients.Current understanding of IBD pathogenesis implicates complex interactions between host genetics and the gut microbiome. Most cohorts studying the gut microbiota to date have been underpowered, examined single treatments and produced heterogeneous results. Lack of cross-treatment comparisons and well-powered independent replication cohorts hampers the ability to infer real-world utility of predictive signatures.IBD-RESPONSE will use multi-omic data to create a predictive tool for treatment response. Future patient benefit may include development of biomarker-based treatment stratification or manipulation of intestinal microbial targets. IBD-RESPONSE and downstream studies have the potential to improve quality of life, reduce patient risk and reduce expenditure on ineffective treatments., Methods and Analysis: This prospective, multicentre, observational study will identify and validate a predictive model for response to advanced IBD therapies, incorporating gut microbiome, metabolome, single-cell transcriptome, human genome, dietary and clinical data. 1325 participants commencing advanced therapies will be recruited from ~40 UK sites. Data will be collected at baseline, week 14 and week 54. The primary outcome is week 14 clinical response. Secondary outcomes include clinical remission, loss of response in week 14 responders, corticosteroid-free response/remission, time to treatment escalation and change in patient-reported outcome measures., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the Wales Research Ethics Committee 5 (ref: 21/WA/0228). Recruitment is ongoing. Following study completion, results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific meetings. Publications will be summarised at www.ibd-response.co.uk., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN96296121., Competing Interests: Competing interests: TA reports personal grants from F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen, AbbVie, Janssen, Celltrion, Galapagos, Immunodiagnostik and Takeda, outside the submitted work; personal fees for educational development/delivery from Pfizer, payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Pfizer, Takeda and F. Hoffman-La Roche; support for attending meetings from Celltrion, Tillotts and Pfizer. CAA reports grants from the Wellcome Sanger Institute Quinquennial Review 2021–2026, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (USA), the Medical Research Council, Open Targets UK and the Helmsley Charitable Trust; consulting fees from BridgeBio, Genomics and Brigham & Women’s Hospital Boston; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from GlaxoSmithKline; support for attending meetings and/or travel membership from the Wellcome Sanger Institute Quinquennial Review 2021–2026; (Chair) of the Board of Trustees for the Sanger Prize; other interests as Director of Anderson Genomics Consultancy. MB reports partial personal salary funding from the Medical Research Council. ALH reports personal consulting fees from AbbVie, BMS, Celltrion, Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda and Roche; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from BMS, Celltrion, Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda, Roche and AbbVie; support for attending meetings and/or travel from BMS, Celltrion, Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda, Roche and AbbVie. PI reports personal grants from Celltrion, Galapagos and Pfizer, outside the submitted work; personal consulting fees from AbbVie, Takeda, BMS, Janssen, Arena, Pfizer, Galapagos, Lilly, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Celgene; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Lilly, BMS, Pfizer and Galapagos; support for attending meetings and/or travel from AbbVie and Tillotts. LJ-D reports grants from the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research, the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Medical Research Council; grants from Novartis Pharmaceutical, outside the submitted work; consulting fees from Nightingale Health and Genomics. CK reports partial salary funding from the Medical Research Council. NAK reports grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celltrion, Galapagos and Immunodiagnostik; consulting fees from AbbVie, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Dr Falk; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Tillotts, Galapagos and Takeda; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Tillotts; participation (Chair) on the Board of the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Clinical Research Group. CAL reports grants from and/or consultancy for Janssen, Takeda, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Orion, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, UCB, Biogen, GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Genentech; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Ferring, Takeda, Janssen, Nordic Pharma and Dr Falk; participation (Secretary) on the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Section; participation on the Steering Committee of IBD UK. CWL reports grants from UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship; personal consulting fees from AbbVie, Pfizer, Janssen, Takeda, Galapagos, Fresnius Kabi, Novartis/Sandoz, BMS and Celltrion; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Pfizer, Janssen, Takeda, Galapagos, Fresnius Kabi, Novartis/Sandoz, BMS, Ferring, Dr Falk and Celltrion. JOL reports grants from AbbVie, and Gilead; personal consulting fees from Allergan, AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Cornerstones US, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Lilly, MSD UK, Shire UK, Shire International, Ferring UK, Ferring International, Celltrion, Takeda, Pfizer and Janssen; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cornerstones US, Galapagos, Ferring UK, Ferring International, Celltrion, Takeda, Pfizer and Janssen; support to attend meetings and/or travel from AbbVie and Janssen. RHM reports that she is an independent membership on the Trial Steering Committee for the National Institute for Health and Care Research funded ALLEGRO trial. JRM reports personal consulting fees from EnteroBiotix and Cultech; patent held (without financial gain) on Clostridium difficile therapy (WO2019197836A1), participation (Chair) on the IDMC Board. NMcG reports partial (10%) salary funding from the Medical Research Council. REM reports personal salary funding from the Wellcome Sanger Institute. JO reports stock held in Novartis. MP reports grants from Pfizer and Gilead; personal consulting fees from Galapagos; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen. NP reports grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda and Pfizer; consulting fees from AbbVie, Allergan, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, GSK, Takeda and Vifor; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, Roche, Pfizer, Takeda and Tillotts; support for attending meetings and/or travel from AbbVie, Allergan, Celltrion, Janssen and Takeda; participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AbbVie, Allergan, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, GSK, Takeda and Vifor. TR reports personal grants from AbbVie; personal consulting fees from AbbVie, Arena, Aslan, AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Ferring, Galapagos, Gilead, GSK, Heptares, LabGenius, Janssen, Mylan, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Takeda, UCB and XAP therapeutics; participation on the board of UCB, membership (Chair) of the ECCO Guidelines Committee, membership of the UEG Scientific Committee. JS reports grants from Crohn’s and Colitis UK, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, ECCO, the European Commission, CCFA and Action Medical Research; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Roche; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for the MODULATE trial and the TRIBUTE trial; leadership or fiduciary role as the Director of the Royal College of Physicians IBD Registry, and Governing Body Fellow at Green Templeton College. AS reports personal consulting fees from GSK; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Falk, and AbbVie; payment of conference fees to attend the British Society of Gastroenterology Annual Conference 2022 from Celltrion; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for the IBD-RESPONSE study (unpaid), and AbbVie; participation on the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD Section Committee. CJS reports personal consultancy fees from Astarte Medical; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Nestle Nutrition Institute. JW reports grants from Intercept; consulting fees from Worg and UCB; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Roche. KW reports grants from the Helsmsley Charitable Trust, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, Almond Board of California, Danone, International Dried Fruit and Nut Council, Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health and care Research; royalty or license payments for Volatile organic compounds in the diagnosis and management of irritable bowel syndrome, and Wiley BDA Advances in Nutrition & Dietetics book series; personal consulting fees from Danone; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Janssen; support for attending meetings and/or travel from Yakult; participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for the MODULATE trial (unpaid)., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background and Aims: In 2020 we reported the ACE Index in acute colitis which used biochemical and endoscopic parameters to predict steroid non-response on admission in patients with acute ulcerative colitis [UC]. We aimed to validate the ACE Index in an independent cohort., Methods: The validation cohort comprised patients screened as eligible for inclusion in the CONSTRUCT study, a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial which compared the effectiveness of treatment with infliximab vs ciclosporin in patients admitted with acute UC. The CONSTRUCT cohort database was reviewed at The Edinburgh IBD Unit and the same biochemical and endoscopic variables and cut-off values as those in the derivation cohort were applied to the validation cohort., Results: In total, 800 patients were identified; 62.5% [55/88] of patients with a maximum ACE Index of 3 did not respond to intravenous [IV] steroids (positive predictive value [PPV] 62.5%, negative predictive value [NPV] 79.8%). Furthermore, 79.8% [158/198] of patients with an ACE Index of 0 responded to IV steroids [PPV 79.8%, NPV 62.5%]. Receiver operator characteristic [ROC] curve analysis produced an area under the curve [AUC] of 0.663 [p < 0.001]., Conclusions: We have now reported and externally validated the ACE Index in acute colitis in a combined cohort of over 1000 patients from across the UK. The ACE Index may be used in conjunction with clinical judgement to help identify patients admitted with active UC who are at high risk of not responding to IV steroids. Further studies are required to improve objectivity and accuracy of assessment., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background and Aims: Treatment of ulcerative colitis [UC] requires a patient-centric definition of comprehensive disease control that considers improvements in aspects not typically captured by classical landmark trial endpoints. In an international initiative, we reviewed aspects of UC that affect patients and/or indicate mucosal inflammation, to achieve consensus on which aspects to combine in a definition of comprehensive disease control, using a modified Delphi process., Methods: The Delphi panel comprised 12 gastroenterologists and one patient advocate. Two gastroenterologists were elected as chairs and did not vote. To inform statements, we asked 18 patients and the panel members about their experiences of remission and reviewed published literature. Panel members voted on statements anonymously in three rounds, with a live discussion before Round 3. Consensus was met if ≥67% of the panel agreed. Statements without consensus in Rounds 1 and 2 were revised or discarded after Round 3., Results: The panel agreed to measure individual patient benefit using a definition of comprehensive disease control that combines aspects currently measured in trials [rectal bleeding, stool frequency, disease-related quality of life, endoscopy, histological inflammatory activity, inflammatory biomarkers, and corticosteroid use] with additional patient-reported symptoms [bowel urgency, abdominal pain, extraintestinal manifestations, fatigue, and sleep disturbance]. The panel agreed on scoring systems and thresholds for many aspects., Conclusions: Using a robust methodology, we defined comprehensive disease control in UC. Next, we will combine the measurement and scoring of these aspects into a multicomponent tool and will adopt comprehensive disease control as a treatment target in clinical practice and trials., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

Background: Filgotinib is a small molecule with preferential inhibition of Janus kinase type 1, approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in Scotland in May 2022. We present the first real world experience on its use in clinical practice., Methods: In this retrospective, observational, cohort study we assessed patients with active ulcerative colitis who received filgotinib in NHS Lothian, Scotland. Baseline demographic, phenotype and follow-up data were collected via review of electronic medical records., Results: We included 91 patients with median treatment duration of 39 weeks (IQR 23-49). Among the cohort, 67% (61/91) were biologic and small molecule naïve, whilst 20.9% (19/91) had failed one and 12.1% (11/91) ≥2 classes of advanced therapy. Of the biologic and small molecule naïve patients, 18% (11/61) were also thiopurine naïve. Clinical remission (partial Mayo score <2) was achieved in 71.9% (41/57) and 76.4% (42/55) of patients at weeks 12 and 24 respectively. Biochemical remission (CRP≤5mg/L) was achieved in 87.3% (62/71) at week 12 and 88.9% (40/45) at week 24. Faecal biomarker (calprotectin <250µg/g) remission was achieved in 82.8% (48/58) at week 12 and 79.5% (35/44) at week 24.At the end of follow-up, median 42 weeks (IQR 27-50), 82.4% (75/91) of patients remained on filgotinib. Severe adverse events leading to drug discontinuation occurred in 2.2% (2/91) and there were 8.8% (8/91) moderate adverse events that required temporary discontinuation., Conclusion: These are the first reported data on the real-world efficacy and safety of filgotinib in ulcerative colitis. Our findings demonstrate that filgotinib is an effective and low risk treatment option for these patients., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving anti-TNF and JAK-inhibitor therapy have attenuated responses to COVID-19 vaccination. We aimed to determine how IBD treatments affect neutralising antibody responses against the Omicron BA.4/5 variant., Methods: In this multicentre cohort study, we prospectively recruited 340 adults (69 healthy controls and 271 IBD) at nine UK hospitals between May 28, 2021 and March 29, 2022. The IBD study population was established (>12 weeks therapy) on either thiopurine (n = 63), infliximab (n = 45), thiopurine and infliximab combination therapy (n = 48), ustekinumab (n = 45), vedolizumab (n = 46) or tofacitinib (n = 24). Patients were excluded if they were being treated with any other immunosuppressive therapies. Participants had two doses of either ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 vaccines, followed by a third dose of either BNT162b2 or mRNA1273. Pseudo-neutralisation assays against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and BA.4/5 were performed. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (NT50) of participant sera was calculated. The primary outcome was anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralising response against wild-type virus and Omicron BA.4/5 variant after the second and third doses of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, stratified by immunosuppressive therapy, adjusting for prior infection, vaccine type, age, and interval between vaccination and blood collection. This study is registered with ISRCTN (No. 13495664)., Findings: Both heterologous (first two doses adenovirus vaccine, third dose mRNA vaccine) and homologous (three doses mRNA vaccine) vaccination strategies significantly increased neutralising titres against both wild-type SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Omicron BA.4/5 variant in healthy participants and patients with IBD. Antibody titres against BA.4/5 were significantly lower than antibodies against wild-type virus in both healthy participants and patients with IBD (p < 0.0001). Multivariable models demonstrated that neutralising antibodies against BA.4/5 after three doses of vaccine were significantly lower in patients with IBD on infliximab (Geometric Mean Ratio (GMR) 0.19 [0.10, 0.36], p < 0.0001), infliximab and thiopurine combination (GMR 0.25 [0.13, 0.49], p < 0.0001) or tofacitinib (GMR 0.43 [0.20, 0.91], p = 0.028), but not in patients on thiopurine monotherapy, ustekinumab, or vedolizumab. Breakthrough infection was associated with lower neutralising antibodies against wild-type (p = 0.037) and BA.4/5 (p = 0.045)., Interpretation: A third dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine based on the wild-type spike glycoprotein significantly boosts neutralising antibody titres in patients with IBD. However, responses are lower against the Omicron variant BA.4/5, particularly in patients taking anti-TNF and JAK-inhibitor therapy. Breakthrough infections are associated with lower neutralising antibodies and immunosuppressed patients with IBD may receive additional benefit from bivalent vaccine boosters which target Omicron variants., Funding: Pfizer., Competing Interests: ALH reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from AbbVie, Arena, Atlantic, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Ferring, Dr Falk, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Shire, and Takeda; participation on the Global Steering Committee for Genentech. AJK reports consulting fees from Janssen; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from Pfizer and Takeda; support for attending meetings or travel from Janssen, Tillotts, and Norgine; and participation in a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AbbVie. CWL received personal consulting fees from Galapagos, AbbVie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen and Iterative Scopes; institutional consulting fees from Trellus Health; and support for attending meetings from Galapagos, AbbVie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, GSK, Gilead, Fresenius Kabi, Ferring, and Dr Falk. GRJ received speaker fees from Takeda, Ferring, Janssen, AbbVie and Fresenius Kabi. JLA received support for attending meetings from Takeda. JRG reports grants from Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda and Galapagos. KVP received consulting fees from AbbVie, Janssen, Galapagos and Pfizer; reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Janssen, Galapagos, Pfizer, Takeda, Tillotts and Ferring; support for attending meetings or travel from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Janssen, Galapagos, Pfizer, Takeda, Tillotts and Ferring; and participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AbbVie, Galapagos, Pfizer and Janssen. SB received research grant from Bowel Research UK and support for attending conferences from Ferring and Dr Falk, outside the submitted work. KMP is a member of the data safety monitoring board for NCT05249829 and NCT05575492; has received a fee for speaking from Seqirus and Sanofi Pasteur, and has research funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the MRC/UKRI, the Vaccine Task Force, and NIHR Imperial BRC outside the submitted work. KK reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from Janssen and Ferring; support for attending meetings or travel from Janssen and Takeda; and participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for Janssen and PredictImmune. MP received research grant from Pfizer and speaker fees from Janssen. NAK reports grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Celgene, Celltrion, Galapagos, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Roche, and Takeda; consulting fees from Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dr Falk, Janssen, Mylan, Pharmacosmos, Galapagos, Takeda, and Tillotts; personal fees from Allergan, Celltrion, Dr Falk, Ferring, Janssen, Pharmacosmos, Takeda, Tillotts, and Galapagos; and support for attending meetings from AbbVie, Dr Falk, Tillotts and Janssen, outside the submitted work. PMI reports grants from Celltrion, Takeda, MSD, Pfizer, and Galapagos; personal fees from Gilead, Pfizer, Galapagos, Takeda, AbbVie, Celltrion, Janssen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Arena; speaker fees from Pfizer, Galapagos, Takeda, AbbVie, Celltrion, Janssen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Arena, outside the submitted work. SS reports grants from Tillotts, Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer and AbbVie; received personal fees from AbbVie, Tillotts, Janssen, Takeda, Dr Falk, Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb; received support for attending meetings from Janssen, AbbVie and Celltrion; and serves as a member of the data safety monitoring board for AbbVie, Janssen, Takeda, Celltrion, Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb. TA reports grant funding from Pfizer to deliver this study; grants from Celltrion, Roche, Takeda, Biogen, and Galapagos; and honoraria for lectures from Takeda and Roche, outside the submitted work. NP is the principal investigator on the research grant from Pfizer that funded the VIP study; has received research grants from Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, Galapagos, CCUK, AstraZeneca, Helmsley Charitable Trust, outside the submitted work; reports personal fees from Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, Galapagos, Bristol Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Roche, Lilly, Allergan, Celgene and AstraZeneca outside the submitted work; and has served as a speaker or advisory board member for AbbVie, Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Dr Falk, AstraZeneca, Galapagos and Vifor; and serves as a member of the data safety monitoring board for Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca. All other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Background and Aims: The progressive nature of Crohn's disease is highly variable and hard to predict. In addition, symptoms correlate poorly with mucosal inflammation. There is therefore an urgent need to better characterize the heterogeneity of disease trajectories in Crohn's disease by utilizing objective markers of inflammation. We aimed to better understand this heterogeneity by clustering Crohn's disease patients with similar longitudinal fecal calprotectin profiles., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study at the Edinburgh IBD Unit, a tertiary referral center, and used latent class mixed models to cluster Crohn's disease subjects using fecal calprotectin observed within 5 years of diagnosis. Information criteria, alluvial plots, and cluster trajectories were used to decide the optimal number of clusters. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and analysis of variance were used to test for associations with variables commonly assessed at diagnosis., Results: Our study cohort comprised 356 patients with newly diagnosed Crohn's disease and 2856 fecal calprotectin measurements taken within 5 years of diagnosis (median 7 per subject). Four distinct clusters were identified by characteristic calprotectin profiles: a cluster with consistently high fecal calprotectin and 3 clusters characterized by different downward longitudinal trends. Cluster membership was significantly associated with smoking (P = .015), upper gastrointestinal involvement (P < .001), and early biologic therapy (P < .001)., Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrates a novel approach to characterizing the heterogeneity of Crohn's disease by using fecal calprotectin. The group profiles do not simply reflect different treatment regimens and do not mirror classical disease progression endpoints., (Copyright © 2023 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Tofacitinib is an oral small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). This post hoc analysis assessed whether various statistical techniques could predict outcomes of tofacitinib maintenance therapy in patients with UC., Methods: Data from patients who participated in a 52-week, phase III maintenance study (OCTAVE Sustain) and an open-label long-term extension study (OCTAVE Open) were included in this analysis. Patients received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily (BID) or placebo (OCTAVE Sustain only). Logistic regression analyses were performed to generate models using clinical and laboratory variables to predict loss of responder status at week 8 of OCTAVE Sustain, steroid-free remission (defined as a partial Mayo score of 0-1 in the absence of corticosteroid use) at week 52 of OCTAVE Sustain, and delayed response at week 8 of OCTAVE Open. Furthermore, differences in loss of response/discontinuation patterns between treatment groups in OCTAVE Sustain were established., Results: The generated prediction models demonstrated insufficient accuracy for determining loss of response at week 8, steroid-free remission at week 52 in OCTAVE Sustain, or delayed response in OCTAVE Open. Both tofacitinib doses demonstrated comparable response/remission patterns based on visualizations of disease activity over time. The rectal bleeding subscore was the primary determinant of disease worsening (indicated by an increased total Mayo score), and the endoscopy subscore was the primary determinant of disease improvement (indicated by a decreased total Mayo score)., Conclusion: Visualizations of disease activity subscores revealed distinct patterns among patients with UC that had disease worsening and disease improvement. The statistical models assessed in this analysis could not accurately predict loss of responder status, steroid-free remission, or delayed response to tofacitinib. Possible reasons include the small sample size or missing data related to yet unknown key variables that were not collected during these trials., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The UNITI trial reports efficacy of ustekinumab (UST) dose intensification in Crohn's disease (CD) from 12- to 8-weekly, but not 4-weekly. We aimed 1) to assess the cumulative incidence of UST dose intensification to 4- or 6-weekly, 2) to identify factors associated with dose intensification, and 3) to assess the effectiveness of this strategy., Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational cohort study in NHS Lothian including all UST treated CD patients (2015-2020)., Results: 163 CD patients were treated with UST (median follow-up: 20.3 months [13.4-38.4]), of whom 55 (33.7%) underwent dose intensification to 4-weekly (n = 50, 30.7%) or 6-weekly (n = 5, 3.1%). After 1 year 29.9% were dose intensified. Prior exposure to both anti-TNF and vedolizumab (HR 9.5; 1.3-70.9), and concomitant steroid use at UST start (HR 1.8; 1.0-3.1) were associated with dose intensification. Following dose intensification, 62.6% patients (29/55) remained on UST beyond 1 year. Corticosteroid-free clinical remission was achieved in 27% at week 16 and 29.6% at last follow-up., Conclusion: One third of CD patients treated with UST underwent dose intensification to a 4- or 6-weekly interval within the first year. Patients who failed both anti-TNF and vedolizumab, or required steroids at initiation were more likely to dose intensify., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Lauranne Derikx has served on an advisory board for Sandoz and as a speaker for Janssen. Spyros Siakavellas has received speaker fees from Pfizer and Janssen. Nikolas Plevris has served as a speaker for Janssen, Takeda and Pfizer. Beatriz Gros has served as a speaker for Abbvie and Galapagos. Colin Noble has served on an advisory board for Galapagos. Gareth-Rhys Jones has served as a speaker for Takeda, Janssen, Abbvie and Ferring. Charlie Lees has acted as a consultant to Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer, Galapagos, BMS, Pharmacosmos, GSK, Gilead, Topivert, Vifor Pharma, Celltrion, Dr Falk, Oshi Health, Trellus Health and Iterative Scopes; he has received speaking fees and travel support from Pfizer, Janssen, Abbvie, Galapagos, Fresnius Kabi, Takeda, Shire, Ferring, and Dr Falk. None of the other authors reported any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Switching from originator infliximab (IFX) to biosimilar IFX is effective and safe. However, data on multiple switching are scarce. The Edinburgh inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) unit has undertaken three switch programmes: (1) Remicade to CT-P13 (2016), (2) CT-P13 to SB2 (2020), and (3) SB2 to CT-P13 (2021)., Objective: The primary endpoint of this study was to assess CT-P13 persistence following switch from SB2. Secondary endpoints included persistence stratified by the number of biosimilar switches (single, double and triple), effectiveness and safety., Methods: We performed a prospective, observational, cohort study. All adult IBD patients on IFX biosimilar SB2 underwent an elective switch to CT-P13. Patients were reviewed in a virtual biologic clinic with protocol driven collection of clinical disease activity, C-reactive protein (CRP), faecal calprotectin (FC), IFX trough/antibody levels, and drug survival., Results: 297 patients (CD n = 196 [66%], ulcerative colitis/inflammatory bowel disease unclassified n = 101, [34%]) were switched (followed-up: 7.5 months [6.8-8.1]). This was the third, second and first IFX switch for 67/297 (22.5%), 138/297 (46.5%) and 92/297 (31%) of the cohort respectively. 90.6% of patients remained on IFX during follow-up. The number of switches was not independently associated with IFX persistence after adjusting for confounders. Clinical (p = 0.77), biochemical (CRP ≤5 mg/ml; p = 0.75) and faecal biomarker (FC<250 µg/g; p = 0.63) remission were comparable at baseline, week 12 and week 24., Conclusion: Multiple successive switches from IFX originator to biosimilars are effective and safe in patients with IBD, irrespective of the number of IFX switches., (© 2023 The Authors. United European Gastroenterology Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of United European Gastroenterology.)

Background: Anti-TNF drugs, such as infliximab, are associated with attenuated antibody responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We aimed to determine how the anti-TNF drug infliximab and the anti-integrin drug vedolizumab affect vaccine-induced neutralising antibodies against highly transmissible omicron (B.1.1.529) BA.1, and BA.4 and BA.5 (hereafter BA.4/5) SARS-CoV-2 variants, which possess the ability to evade host immunity and, together with emerging sublineages, are now the dominating variants causing current waves of infection., Methods: CLARITY IBD is a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study investigating the effect of infliximab and vedolizumab on SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients aged 5 years and older with a diagnosis of IBD and being treated with infliximab or vedolizumab for 6 weeks or longer were recruited from infusion units at 92 hospitals in the UK. In this analysis, we included participants who had received uninterrupted biological therapy since recruitment and without a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome was neutralising antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.4/5 after three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. We constructed Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the risk of breakthrough infection in relation to neutralising antibody titres. The study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN45176516, and is closed to accrual., Findings: Between Sept 22 and Dec 23, 2020, 7224 patients with IBD were recruited to the CLARITY IBD study, of whom 1288 had no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection after three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and were established on either infliximab (n=871) or vedolizumab (n=417) and included in this study (median age was 46·1 years [IQR 33·6-58·2], 610 [47·4%] were female, 671 [52·1%] were male, 1209 [93·9%] were White, and 46 [3·6%] were Asian). After three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, 50% neutralising titres (NT50s) were significantly lower in patients treated with infliximab than in those treated with vedolizumab, against wild-type (geometric mean 2062 [95% CI 1720-2473] vs 3440 [2939-4026]; p<0·0001), BA.1 (107·3 [86·40-133·2] vs 648·9 [523·5-804·5]; p<0·0001), and BA.4/5 (40·63 [31·99-51·60] vs 223·0 [183·1-271·4]; p<0·0001) variants. Breakthrough infection was significantly more frequent in patients treated with infliximab (119 [13·7%; 95% CI 11·5-16·2] of 871) than in those treated with vedolizumab (29 [7·0% [4·8-10·0] of 417; p=0·00040). Cox proportional hazards models of time to breakthrough infection after the third dose of vaccine showed infliximab treatment to be associated with a higher hazard risk than treatment with vedolizumab (hazard ratio [HR] 1·71 [95% CI 1·08-2·71]; p=0·022). Among participants who had a breakthrough infection, we found that higher neutralising antibody titres against BA.4/5 were associated with a lower hazard risk and, hence, a longer time to breakthrough infection (HR 0·87 [0·79-0·95]; p=0·0028)., Interpretation: Our findings underline the importance of continued SARS-CoV-2 vaccination programmes, including second-generation bivalent vaccines, especially in patient subgroups where vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy might be reduced, such as those on anti-TNF therapies., Funding: Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Hull University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust; NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre; Crohn's and Colitis UK; Guts UK; National Core Studies Immunity Programme, UK Research and Innovation; and unrestricted educational grants from F Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, and Galapagos., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests SL reports non-financial support from Pfizer and Ferring. SS reports grants from Takeda, Tillots Pharma, Janssen, and Amgen; speaker honoraria from Janssen, Tillotts Pharma, Amgen, AbbVie, and Ferring; personal fees from Takeda, Janssen, and Tillots Pharma; and serving as an advisory board member for Takeda. CAL declares research support or fees for development and delivery of non-promotional education from Janssen, Takeda, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Orion, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, Ferring, Dr Falk, UCB, Biogen, and Genentech. ALH has served as consultant, advisory board member, or speaker for AbbVie, Arena, Atlantic, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Falk, Ferring, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Napp Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Shire, and Takeda and serves on the global steering committee for Genentech. KK reports payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing, or educational events from Janssen and Ferring; support for attending meetings or travel from Janssen and Takeda; and participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for Janssen and PredictImmune. CWL reports personal consulting fees from Galapagos, AbbVie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, and Iterative Scopes; institutional consulting fees from Trellus Health; and personal fees and support for attending meetings from Galapagos, AbbVie, Takeda, Pfizer, Janssen, GSK, Gilead, Fresenius Kabi, Ferring, and Dr Falk. JRG reports grants from F Hoffmann-La Roche, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, and Galapagos during the study. KMP is chief, principal, or co-investigator for vaccine clinical trials and experimental medicine studies (NCT05007275, NCT04753892, EudraCT 2020-001646-20, NCT04400838, NCT04324606, EudraCT 2017-004610-26, NCT03970993, and NCT03816137), is a member of the data safety monitoring board for two vaccine trials (NCT05249829 and NCT05575492), has received a fee for speaking from Seqirus and Sanofi Pasteur, and has research funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the UK Medical research Council/UK Research and Innovation, the Vaccine Task Force, and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), outside the submitted work. NAK reports grants from F Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, and Galapagos during the conduct of the study; grants and non-financial support from AbbVie, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, Celgene, and Pharmacosmos; grants and personal fees from Celltrion; personal fees and non-financial support from Janssen, Tillots Pharma and Dr Falk; and personal fees from Allergan, Ferring, Pharmacosmos, Takeda, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Mylan, outside the submitted work. TA reports grants from F Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, Galapagos, and Crohn's and Colitis UK during the conduct of the study; payment for educational events for Takeda; and serving as medical advisor to Crohn's and Colitis UK, outside of the submitted work. NP reports grants from F Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Biogen, Celltrion Healthcare, Takeda, Galapagos, and Crohn's and Colitis UK during the conduct of the study; research grants from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer; and personal fees from Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, Galapagos, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Roche, Lilly, Allergan, Celgene, and Astra Zeneca outside the submitted work; and has served as a speaker or advisory board member for AbbVie, Allergan, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Dr Falk, Galapagos, AstraZeneca, and Vifor Pharma. SL is supported by a Wellcome GW4-CAT fellowship. NC acknowledges support from Crohn's and Colitis UK. CAL acknowledges support from the NIHR Newcastle BRC and the support of the Programmed Investigation Unit at Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. CWL is funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. NP is supported by the NIHR Imperial BRC. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)