Decision Resources reports increased uptake of TNF-alpha inhibitors for Crohn's disease

Dec 9 2009

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that compared to last year's analysis of U.S. patient-level claims data, TNF-alpha inhibitors are being used more often to treat newly diagnosed patients suffering from Crohn's disease. Three times as many newly diagnosed second-line patients received a TNF-alpha inhibitor versus one year ago (15.2 percent versus 5.6 percent). This boost is due in part to physicians' increased prescribing of Centocor Ortho Biotech's Remicade as a second- or third-line therapy for newly diagnosed patients.

"Our analysis of patient-level claims data shows that both Remicade and Abbott's Humira contributed to the increased uptake of TNF-alpha inhibitors in newly diagnosed patients. However, Remicade outpaces Humira substantially in second- and third-line treatment for these patients," stated Madhuri Borde, Ph.D., product director at Decision Resources. "While enthusiasm for agents with self-administration (e.g., Humira, UCB's Cimzia) may lead to slower growth for Remicade in the future, our survey results make it clear that physicians prescribe Remicade based on its perceived superior efficacy in inducing remission and in healing fistulizing forms of Crohn's disease compared with Humira and Cimzia."

The new Treatment Algorithms in Crohn's Disease report also finds that a major shift in U.S. gastroenterologists' prescribing patterns will occur over the next two years. More than 60 percent of U.S. surveyed gastroenterologists will increase their use of a top-down approach to treating Crohn's disease in newly diagnosed patients (i.e. starting with a biologic) and more than 70 percent will decrease their use of corticosteroids in newly diagnosed patients.

By combining patient-level claims data with physician survey data, this report can be used to build patient-flow models and analyze the assumptions driving these models. Patient-level claims data finds that newly diagnosed patients receiving Remicade first- or second-line did not switch to Humira within their first year of treatment and a small percentage of newly diagnosed patients receiving Humira in these two lines switched to Remicade. These findings indicate that patients treated with either drug rarely switch to another biologic during their first year of treatment.