Pharmacology and metabolism of infliximab biosimilars - A new treatment option in inflammatory bowel diseases

Biological therapy with monoclonal antibodies to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) was shown in large clinical trials to be effective in inducing and maintaining clinical remission in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Infliximab, the first anti-TNF-alpha biologic drug, has significantly improved inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment outcomes by preventing structural damage progression, thereby reducing complications and the need for surgery and hospitalization. The major concern associated with the use of biologics is their high cost. However, as these therapies lose patent protection, cheaper biosimilar versions of the originator products are being developed, such as the infliximab biosimilar CT-P13. Position statements from several scientific societies and some experts in their reviews have expressed concerns to the concept of extrapolation without direct IBD clinical evidence, whereas European Medicines Agency (EMA) experts have supported extrapolation. In this review, we focus on the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics properties and comparative effectiveness of anti-TNF-alpha biosimilars, related to their use in IBD. (C) 2016 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.