Real-world observational cohort study of treatment patterns and safety outcomes of infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (CONNECT-IBD)

Background The objective of this non-interventional, observational prospective cohort study (CONNECT-IBD) was to assess the use of CT-P13 (Inflectra®) in the treatment of patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in the context of treatment with reference infliximab (IFX; Remicade®).Methods Patients (recruited April 2015 to October 2018) at 150 sites across 13 European countries were followed for up to 2 years. Primary outcomes were safety, population characteristics, and drug utilization patterns. Secondary outcomes included clinical assessment of disease activity. Data were analyzed descriptively.Results Overall, 2543 patients (CD, n = 1676; UC, n = 867) were included. In the CT-P13 cohort (n = 1522), median disease duration was 63 (0–579) months and 30% of patients were IFX naïve; median duration of prior IFX treatment was 5 months. During the observation period, median duration of drug exposure was 14 (0–28) months. 41% of patients reported 912 all-causality treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs); 24% experienced treatment-related TEAEs. Most TEAEs were of mild-to-moderate severity. Treatment-emergent serious adverse events were reported by 17% of patients.Conclusion Safety information for CT-P13 in this large study was consistent with the known safety profile for IFX and did not alter the established benefit-risk profile of CT-P13.