Benjamin Click, MD, staff gastroenterologist, the Cleveland Clinic, discusses the role of therapeutic drug monitoring in treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Transcript
The idea behind therapeutic drug monitoring, similar to many medications that utilize drug levels to target a therapeutic window of drug level to increase or improve clinical outcomes, is the same for biologic medications in inflammatory bowel disease, mostly with the monoclonal antibodies.
So there are 2 schools of thought regarding therapeutic drug monitoring and inflammatory bowel disease. There's what we call a reactive therapeutic drug monitoring strategy, and what that means is when a patient reports signs or symptoms of active inflammation, and we confirm that active inflammation, then we check the drug level, as well as the antibodies against the drug itself, to see what is the potential reason or mechanism behind this “loss of response” to these to these medications.
The other school of thought is what we call a proactive therapeutic drug monitoring strategy, and this relies on the idea that if we keep the drug in the therapeutic window in a prospective manner, meaning that we check the level on a routine basis as a patient starts the medication before they relapse or potentially display signs of loss of response, then we may improve clinical outcomes and potentially preserve some of our medications in the long run.
We're still doing a lot of research regarding these 2, but I think, generally, the more implemented is the reactive strategy at this point in time, and it's currently recommended by the American Gastroenterological Association guidelines. But I think an exciting opportunity is the proactive strategy as well.
Q&A With Dr Chelsee Jensen: Navigating FDA Approvals, Challenges in the Biosimilar Landscape
January 14th 2024Chelsee Jensen, PharmD, BCPS, senior pharmacy specialist and pharmaceutical formulary manager at Mayo Clinic, reacts to the biggest FDA approvals of 2023 and how she sees the adalimumab, natalizumab, and tocilizumab spaces playing out.
Decoding the Patent Puzzle: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Biosimilars
March 17th 2024On this episode of Not So Different, Ha Kung Wong, JD, an intellectual patent attorney and partner at Venable LLP, details the confusing landscape that is the US patent system and how it can be improved to help companies overcome barriers to biosimilar competition.
IGBA 2023: Dr Monique Mansoura Highlights the Intersection of Geopolitical Issues, Biopharma
February 19th 2023COVID-19 allowed governments to critically examine the biopharma space to increase access to vaccines, but there's still a way to go, according to Monique Mansoura, PhD, MBA, executive director of global health security and biotechnology at the MITRE Corporation, at the International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association’s annual meeting.
Exploring the Biosimilar Horizon: Julie Reed's Predictions for 2024
February 18th 2024On this episode of Not So Different, Julie Reed, executive director of the Biosimilars Forum, returns to discuss her predictions for the biosimilar industry for 2024 and beyond as well as the impact that the Forum's 4 new members will have on the organization's mission.