Persistence of Second and Third-Line Biologics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multi-Centre Cohort Study

Background: Despite proven efficacy of biologics in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), many exhibit primary non-response or secondary loss of response and switch to subsequent biologic(s). Here, we identified early predictors of second- and/or third-line biologic persistence in IBD, in a real-world cohort of patients. Methods: A retrospective multicentre cohort study was conducted on patients receiving second- and/or third-line biologics for IBD from 2005–2021. Cox regression was applied to identify factors predictive of longer cumulative biologic persistence prior to treatment failure. Results: Of 179 patients who received ≥2 biologics, 159 (88.8%) received an anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) first-line. There was a significantly increased likelihood of longer treatment persistence in recipients who received an anti-TNF first, versus those that received a non-anti-TNF agent first (p < 0.01). A diagnosis of CD (OR 7.1, 95% CI [2.3–21.7], p < 0.01), and endoscopic remission achieved on the first biologic (OR 10.4 [1.3–79.9], p = 0.03) were positive predictors of longer biologic persistence, whilst advancing age at IBD diagnosis (OR 0.97 [0.94–0.99], p = 0.04) and primary non-response to initial biologic (OR 0.3 [0.1–0.7], p < 0.01) were inversely associated with biologic persistence. Conclusions: These real-world data demonstrate multiple, simple to identify factors that offer the potential for early objectively assessed response to first-line biologic to predict future biologic persistence.