Crohn's disease

Active Ingredient: Upadacitinib

Indication for Upadacitinib

Population group: only adults (18 years old or older)
Therapeutic intent: Curative procedure

Upadacitinib is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who have had an inadequate response, lost response or were intolerant to either conventional therapy or a biologic agent.

For this indication, competent medicine agencies globally authorize below treatments:

45 mg once daily for 12 weeks and thereafter 15 mg or 30 mg once daily

For:

Dosage regimens

Regimen A: In case that there is very good treatment response, oral, 45 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is very good treatment response, oral, 15 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily.

Regimen B: In case that there is very good treatment response, oral, 45 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is very good treatment response, oral, 30 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily.

Regimen C: In case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 45 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 30 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 15 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily.

Regimen D: In case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 45 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 30 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 30 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily.

Detailed description

Induction

The recommended induction dose of upadacitinib is 45 mg once daily for 12 weeks. For patients who have not achieved adequate therapeutic benefit after the initial 12-week induction, prolonged induction for an additional 12 weeks with a dose of 30 mg once daily may be considered. For these patients, upadacitinib should be discontinued if there is no evidence of therapeutic benefit after 24 weeks of treatment.

Maintenance

The recommended maintenance dose of upadacitinib is 15 mg or 30 mg once daily based on individual patient presentation:

  • A dose of 15 mg is recommended for patients at higher risk of VTE, MACE and malignancy.
  • A dose of 30 mg once daily may be appropriate for patients with high disease burden who are not at higher risk of VTE, MACE and malignancy or who do not show adequate therapeutic benefit to 15 mg once daily.
  • The lowest effective dose to maintain response should be used.

In patients who have responded to treatment with upadacitinib, corticosteroids may be reduced and/or discontinued in accordance with standard of care.

Interactions

For patients with Crohn’s disease receiving strong inhibitors of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 (e.g., ketoconazole, clarithromycin), the recommended induction dose is 30 mg once daily and the recommended maintenance dose is 15 mg once daily.

Dose initiation

Treatment should not be initiated in patients with an absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) that is <0.5 × 109 cells/L, an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) that is <1 × 109 cells/L or who have haemoglobin (Hb) levels that are <8 g/dL.

Dose interruption

Treatment should be interrupted if a patient develops a serious infection until the infection is controlled.

Interruption of dosing may be needed for management of laboratory abnormalities as described in the following table.

Laboratory measures and monitoring guidance:

Laboratory
measure
Action Monitoring guidance
Absolute
Neutrophil Count
(ANC)
Treatment should be
interrupted if ANC is
<1 × 109 cells/L and
may be restarted once
ANC returns above
this value
Evaluate at baseline and then no later than 12 weeks
after initiation of treatment. Thereafter evaluate
according to individual patient management.
Absolute
Lymphocyte
Count (ALC)
Treatment should be
interrupted if ALC is
<0.5 × 109 cells/L
and may be restarted
once ALC returns
above this value
Haemoglobin (Hb) Treatment should be
interrupted if Hb is
<8 g/dL and may be
restarted once Hb
returns above this
value
Hepatic
transaminases
Treatment should be
temporarily
interrupted if drug-
induced liver injury
is suspected
Evaluate at baseline and thereafter according to
routine patient management.
LipidsPatients should be
managed according
to international
clinical guidelines for
hyperlipidaemia
Evaluate 12 weeks after initiation of treatment and
thereafter according to international clinical
guidelines for hyperlipidaemia

Dosage considerations

Upadacitinib is to be taken orally once daily with or without food and may be taken at any time of the day.

45 mg once daily for 12 weeks and thereafter 15 mg once daily

For:

Dosage regimens

Regimen A: In case that there is very good treatment response, oral, 45 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is very good treatment response, oral, 15 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily.

Regimen B: In case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 45 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 30 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily, over the duration of 12 weeks. Afterwards, in case that there is poor response to treatment, oral, 15 milligrams upadacitinib, once daily.

Detailed description

Induction

The recommended induction dose of upadacitinib is 45 mg once daily for 12 weeks. For patients who have not achieved adequate therapeutic benefit after the initial 12-week induction, prolonged induction for an additional 12 weeks with a dose of 30 mg once daily may be considered. For these patients, upadacitinib should be discontinued if there is no evidence of therapeutic benefit after 24 weeks of treatment.

Maintenance

For patients 65 years of age and older, the recommended maintenance dose is 15 mg once daily. The safety and efficacy of upadacitinib in patients 75 years of age and older have not yet been established.

In patients who have responded to treatment with upadacitinib, corticosteroids may be reduced and/or discontinued in accordance with standard of care.

Interactions

For patients with Crohn’s disease receiving strong inhibitors of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 (e.g., ketoconazole, clarithromycin), the recommended induction dose is 30 mg once daily and the recommended maintenance dose is 15 mg once daily.

Dose initiation

Treatment should not be initiated in patients with an absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) that is <0.5 × 109 cells/L, an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) that is <1 × 109 cells/L or who have haemoglobin (Hb) levels that are <8 g/dL.

Dose interruption

Treatment should be interrupted if a patient develops a serious infection until the infection is controlled.

Interruption of dosing may be needed for management of laboratory abnormalities as described in the following table.

Laboratory measures and monitoring guidance:

Laboratory
measure
Action Monitoring guidance
Absolute
Neutrophil Count
(ANC)
Treatment should be
interrupted if ANC is
<1 × 109 cells/L and
may be restarted once
ANC returns above
this value
Evaluate at baseline and then no later than 12 weeks
after initiation of treatment. Thereafter evaluate
according to individual patient management.
Absolute
Lymphocyte
Count (ALC)
Treatment should be
interrupted if ALC is
<0.5 × 109 cells/L
and may be restarted
once ALC returns
above this value
Haemoglobin (Hb) Treatment should be
interrupted if Hb is
<8 g/dL and may be
restarted once Hb
returns above this
value
Hepatic
transaminases
Treatment should be
temporarily
interrupted if drug-
induced liver injury
is suspected
Evaluate at baseline and thereafter according to
routine patient management.
LipidsPatients should be
managed according
to international
clinical guidelines for
hyperlipidaemia
Evaluate 12 weeks after initiation of treatment and
thereafter according to international clinical
guidelines for hyperlipidaemia

Dosage considerations

Upadacitinib is to be taken orally once daily with or without food and may be taken at any time of the day.

Active ingredient

Upadacitinib

Upadacitinib is a selective and reversible Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor. In human cellular assays, upadacitinib preferentially inhibits signalling by JAK1 or JAK1/3 with functional selectivity over cytokine receptors that signal via pairs of JAK2. JAK1 is important in inflammatory cytokine signals while JAK2 is important for red blood cell maturation and JAK3 signals play a role in immune surveillance and lymphocyte function.

Read more about Upadacitinib

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