Celltrion has announced groundbreaking results from a two-year study on dose escalation of subcutaneous infliximab (CT-P13 SC) therapy.

This news was presented at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2024 in Vienna, highlighting a potential new approach for managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

A post-hoc analysis of the LIBERTY-CD (Crohn’s disease) and LIBERTY-UC (ulcerative colitis) studies showed that patients initially responding to intravenous (IV) induction but losing response subsequently, experienced significant improvement with dose escalation of CT-P13 SC.

Over 102 weeks, clinical remission rates improved markedly, with 70.3% of Crohn’s disease patients and 35.2% of ulcerative colitis patients showing remission.  Endoscopic responses were seen in 40.5% of Crohn’s disease patients.

Prof Stefan Schreiber from University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel commented, “The post-hoc analysis indicates that dose escalation of CT-P13 SC is a possibility to restore efficacy and optimise outcomes in those who initially responded to induction.”

Teclistamab (Tecvayli), a drug manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, has received a positive recommendation from NICE for fourth-line use on the NHS in England and Wales.

This new treatment is for myeloma, a type of blood cancer affecting plasma cells. While most myeloma patients are men over 70, the disease can also affect younger individuals. Although treatable, myeloma currently has no cure.

Teclistamab is recommended for patients who have undergone at least three treatments, including an immunomodulatory drug, a proteasome inhibitor and an anti-CD38 antibody, and whose cancer has progressed since their last treatment.

NICE had previously approved teclistamab in July, but only for patients who would have been offered pomalidomide plus dexamethasone.

This was considered draft guidance. Following advocacy from Blood Cancer UK and other charities, NICE has now expanded access to all patients with triple-class refractory myeloma.

This decision aligns with the recent approval by Scotland’s SMC to use teclistamab on the NHS. Teclistamab, a bispecific monoclonal antibody administered by injection, targets cancer and immune cells, enabling the immune system to destroy them.

Guy Mainwaring, 63, from Middlewich in Cheshire, began receiving teclistamab in January 2023 after multiple previous treatments. “I was diagnosed with myeloma after having a period of prolonged acute back pain. The current treatments are hard and my myeloma kept coming back. I felt like I was exhausting my NHS treatment options, making me feel helpless, and I lost some of my natural enthusiasm.

“Then my consultant managed to get me on teclistamab, it was a complete life changer. I felt like a switch had been flicked, I got my life back and within a couple of weeks not months, I was starting to feel so much better. From not being able to exercise properly or walk very far I’m now back playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played.”