Biologics and targeted synthetic medicines for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Recent pivotal phase 3 trials involving treatments like interleukin-23-, sphingosin-1-phosphate- and Janus kinase inhibitors have demonstrated notable effectiveness. However, they have also unveiled significant side effects such as herpes zoster, lymphopenia and bradycardia. The introduction of novel treatments raises valid concerns necessitating increased collaboration with diverse medical specialities to address potentially severe side effects, and this is vital for enhancing the future care of individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases, as argued in this review.