TARGET-IBD Study Reveals Nearly a Third of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Did Not Undergo Objective Assessment Prior to Biologic Dose Change, Discontinuation

DURHAM, N.C., March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new TARGET-IBD study analysis shows one-third of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) did not have a record of objective disease activity assessment or therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) prior to a biologic therapy dose change or discontinuation. The study was conducted by Target RWE, a leading real-world evidence (RWE) solutions company for the healthcare industry.

Results found 32.5% of patients who underwent a dose escalation and 20.6% of patients who had biologic discontinuation did not have any objective assessment or therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) performed in the 12 weeks prior to the date of therapeutic change.

"The TARGET-IBD analysis suggests a significant portion of IBD patients do not undergo objective assessment prior to biologic therapy change or discontinuation, and further suggests clinicians may be relying less on objective data in certain situations," said Benjamin Click, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine and first author on the study. "There are several possible explanations to this finding, however, reasons for these treatment patterns should be further explored."

Published in the peer-reviewed BMC Gastroenterology, Objective Disease Activity Assessment and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Prior to Biologic Therapy Changes in Routine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Practice: TARGET-IBD studied over 2,100 IBD patients from 34 academic and community centers throughout the U.S. between June 2017 and October 2019. The analysis captured patients receiving biologic therapy who had either a dose change or biologic discontinuation for lack of efficacy.

"Given the recent advancements in IBD treatment, it may be tempting for providers to switch from one therapy to another when their patient doesn't see an improvement in symptoms. This study highlights that there is a need for further assessment in many patients with IBD to help guide treatment approaches," said Edward Barnes, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and co-author of the study.

TARGET-IBD is an ongoing longitudinal, observational study of more than 4,800 adult and pediatric patients with IBD receiving usual care from academic and community centers throughout the U.S. Real-world data is collected from consented participants, who may also provide patient-reported outcome measures and biospecimens. Learn more about Target RWE's IBD publications here.

About Target RWE

Target RWE is a leading health evidence solutions company that generates innovative real-world evidence (RWE) and provides scientific intelligence tools and solutions for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other healthcare partners.

Specifically designed to address the complexities of the natural history of the disease, the drug development process, and treatments in real-world settings, Target RWE builds regulatory-grade clinical data sets and applies state of the science epidemiologic methods to produce RWE about patients with specific conditions, symptoms, and therapies used in usual clinical practice.

Target RWE's regulatory-grade data sets and evidence, modern epidemiological methods, and sound scientific principles rendered as software can be utilized to better health outcomes, inform patient health guidelines, and improve the overall quality of care. Visit www.targetrwe.com for more details.

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SOURCE Target RWE