Biologic Therapies: From Complexity to Clinical Practice in a Changing Environment

This symposium provided an opportunity for global experts to discuss the challenges posed by the introduction of biosimilars. The impact of the manufacturing process on clinical outcomes, maintaining treatment responses over the long term, and issues surrounding patient management in a changing environment were addressed. The symposium was opened by Prof Panaccione describing the evolution of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment in the last 20 years and how biologics have improved outcomes. Prof D’Haens provided an explanation of the complexity surrounding biologic drug development and the hurdles facing drug manufacturers when ensuring high quality and consistently performing products over time. Prof Panaccione discussed the clinical challenges in balancing the transition from induction to maintenance therapy in order to provide a clinically relevant and sustained response to therapy. He also discussed the evidence for long-term outcomes with adalimumab for IBD. Prof Feagan highlighted the issues faced by clinicians treating patients with biologics, including the ability to switch between biologics without loss of efficacy or impact on safety, and the need to consider interchangeability between biologic therapies and the potential risk and impact of immunogenicity.