Is Risankizumab More Effective for Crohn’s Disease Than Ustekinumab?

M Dubinsky et al. Adv Ther. 2023; 40(9): 3896–3911. Open Access! Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparison Between Risankizumab and Ustekinumab for Induction and Maintenance Treatment of Moderately to Severely Active Crohn’s Disease

Background/Methods: Risankizumab (RZB) and ustekinumab (UST), interleukin (IL)-23 and IL-12/23 inhibitors, respectively, are approved treatments for moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease (CD); direct comparison between the two is ongoing. The authors indirectly compared efficacy of RZB versus UST using data from phase 3 trials (three trials for each medication):

Key findings:

Induction: Higher proportions of patients achieved clinical and endoscopic outcomes with RZB vs. UST, resulting in significantly (p ≤ 0.05) greater percent differences between groups for CDAI remission (15%) and endoscopic response (26%) and remission (9%)

Rates of response and remission following induction therapy with RZB (600 mg) or UST (6 mg/kg). *p ≤ 0.05 for RZB versus UST. Relative effect measures are shown as the percent difference between treatment groups; absolute effect measures are the proportions of patients achieving each outcome in each treatment group. BF biologic failure, CCF conventional care failure, CDAI Crohn’s Disease Activity Index, IV intravenous, PBO placebo, RZB risankizumab, UST ustekinumab

Maintenance: rates of CDAI remission were similar (range − 0.3% to − 5.0%) for RZB vs. UST; however, endoscopic response and remission rates appeared more favorable (see Figure 2 below)

Rates of response and remission following maintenance therapy with RZB (180 mg or 360 mg) or UST (90 mg Q8W). *p ≤ 0.05 for RZB versus UST. Relative effect measures are shown as the percent difference between treatment groups; absolute effect measures are the proportions of patients achieving each outcome in each treatment group. BF biologic failure, CCF conventional care failure, CDAI Crohn’s Disease Activity Index, PBO placebo, Q8W every 8 weeks, Q12W every 12 weeks, RZB risankizumab, SC subcutaneous, UST ustekinumab

My take: Since this was not a direct randomization trial, these results are not definitive. However, in this indirect analysis, risankizumab appears to be superior to utekinumab in effectiveness of for Crohn’s disease.

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Risankizumab Receives FDA Approval for Crohn’s Disease

Abbvie Press Release: SKYRIZI® (risankizumab-rzaa) Receives FDA Approval as the First and Only Specific Interleukin-23 (IL-23) to Treat Moderately to Severely Active Crohn’s Disease in Adults

– Third approved indication for SKYRIZI (risankizumab-rzaa) is supported by safety and efficacy data from two induction and one maintenance clinical trials evaluating SKYRIZI in moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease, ADVANCE, MOTIVATE and FORTIFY1-4

– As early as week 4 in the induction studies, clinical response and clinical remission were achieved by significantly more subjects treated with SKYRIZI versus placebo, as were co-primary endpoints of endoscopic response and clinical remission at week 12 and week 521-4

About SKYRIZI® (risankizumab-rzaa)
SKYRIZI is an interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor that selectively blocks IL-23 by binding to its p19 subunit.9,10 IL-23, a cytokine involved in inflammatory processes, is thought to be linked to a number of chronic immune-mediated diseases, including Crohn’s disease.10 The approved dose to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease is 600 mg administered by intravenous infusion over at least one hour at week 0, week 4, and week 8, followed by 360 mg administered by subcutaneous injection at week 12, and every 8 weeks thereafter.4 SKYRIZI is also approved in the U.S. to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy, as well as to treat active psoriatic arthritis in adults, and the recommended dosage is 150 mg administered by subcutaneous injection at week 0, week 4, and every 12 weeks thereafter.4 Phase 3 trials of SKYRIZI in psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and psoriatic arthritis are ongoing

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