Published On: 3/8/2022

TARGET-IBD Study Reveals Nearly a Third of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Did Not Undergo Objective Assessment Prior to Biologic Dose Change, Discontinuation

DURHAM, N.C., March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new TARGET-IBD study analysis shows one-third of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) did not have a record of objective disease activity assessment or therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) prior to a biologic therapy dose change or discontinuation. The study was conducted by Target RWE, a leading real-world evidence (RWE) solutions company for the healthcare industry.

Results found 32.5% of patients who underwent a dose escalation and 20.6% of patients who had biologic discontinuation did not have any objective assessment or therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) performed in the 12 weeks prior to the date of therapeutic change.

"The TARGET-IBD analysis suggests a significant portion of IBD patients do not undergo objective assessment prior to biologic therapy change or discontinuation, and further suggests clinicians may be relying less on objective data in certain situations," said Benjamin Click, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine and first author on the study. "There are several possible explanations to this finding, however, reasons for these treatment patterns should be further explored."

Published in the peer-reviewed BMC Gastroenterology, Objective Disease Activity Assessment and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Prior to Biologic Therapy Changes in Routine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Practice: TARGET-IBD studied over 2,100 IBD patients from 34 academic and community centers throughout the U.S. between June 2017 and October 2019. The analysis captured patients receiving biologic therapy who had either a dose change or biologic discontinuation for lack of efficacy.

"Given the recent advancements in IBD treatment, it may be tempting for providers to switch from one therapy to another when their patient doesn't see an improvement in symptoms. This study highlights that there is a need for further assessment in many patients with IBD to help guide treatment approaches," said Edward Barnes, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and co-author of the study.

TARGET-IBD is an ongoing longitudinal, observational study of more than 4,800 adult and pediatric patients with IBD receiving usual care from academic and community centers throughout the U.S. Real-world data is collected from consented participants, who may also provide patient-reported outcome measures and biospecimens. Learn more about Target RWE's IBD publications here.