Abbott’s Humira shows mucosal healing benefits in new study

Abbott has announced new data from a study of Humira that further underlines the benefits its drug can provide to ulcerative colitis (UC) patients.

Results from a post-hoc sub-analysis of the 52-week Humira Ultra 2 study showed that the drug was able to deliver clinically meaningful rates of mucosal healing for patients with moderately to severely active UC.

Patients involved in this study had failed, were intolerant or had contraindications to certain other medications and achieved a response to Humira induction therapy at eight weeks.

Mucosal healing is recognised as an objective measure of disease activity in the management of UC, an inflammatory bowel disease that is often associated with life-threatening complications.

Dr John Medich, vice-president for clinical development at Abbott's immunology division, said: "This analysis underscores Abbott's commitment to help advance the scientific and clinical understanding of ulcerative colitis and support the evolving standards of care for patients living with this disease."

Earlier this week, analysis from the Ultra 1 and Ultra 2 studies showed that Humira is able to deliver symptomatic improvements for UC patients over three years.