‘Old but Gold’ – Insights About Anti-TNF-α Therapy in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

In these interviews, the experts clearly highlighted four key messages: 1) Too few patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are being treated with biologics, including anti-TNF-α therapies. 2) Some patients may also be receiving this treatment too late in the disease course, when structural damages have already occurred. This may be due to the high cost of originator biologics or a lack of awareness among physicians of the proven benefits of early anti-TNF-α therapy introduction. These therapies have been shown to decrease complications and disease progression. 3) The development of affordable anti-TNF-α biosimilars can facilitate greater access to these therapies and could extend their early use to more patients, with no detected safety issues in switched patients discerned to date. 4) Newer therapeutic options with other mechanisms of action are available, but for now at least, anti-TNF-α therapies are seen as ‘old but gold’.