(Adnkronos) - “Mirikizumab ha dimostrato un’ottima efficacia nel suo programma di sviluppo, già a partire dalle prime settimane di trattamento, con un controllo totale della malattia su circa un quarto dei pazienti e con una sostanziale riduzione dei sintomi per il 60% di essi”. Con queste parole, Massimo Claudio Fantini, segretario generale di Ig-Ibd e professore di Gastroenterologia, università degli Studi di Cagliari, direttore Sc di Gastroenterologia, Aou di Cagliari, è intervenuto all’evento “Colite ulcerosa: dai bisogni dei pazienti a nuove prospettive”, organizzato da Lilly in occasione del via libera di Aifa al rimborso del nuovo farmaco.
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00:00Minikizumab is the first drug approved in ulcerative colitis with a moderate to severe degree of activity that selectively inhibits interleukin-23,
00:15which is one of the fundamental mediators of the inflammatory process at the intestinal level,
00:20i.e. the process that leads to not only organ manifestations such as ulcers, but also to symptoms such as diarrhea and blood in the feces.
00:35This drug has shown in its development program U101 and U2 an excellent effectiveness, both from the first weeks of treatment,
00:46i.e. at the end of the induction, so let's talk about 12 weeks, with a total control of the disease in about a quarter of the patients,
00:56but still with a substantial reduction of the symptoms in more than 60% of patients, but also in the maintenance phase,
01:04reaching more than 40% of patients in complete remission at 40 weeks.
01:09One thing that has been studied specifically in this study is the evacuation emergency.
01:17The evacuation emergency is an extremely impactful symptom on the life of patients,
01:22it is the symptom that relieves the patient at home, in the fear of needing a hygienic service,
01:30and therefore greatly reduces his or her working and productive capacity at an age,
01:37which I remember is the one in which patients are most affected, and the age range ranging from 20 to 50 years.
01:45So we have a disease that impacts in the phase of greater productivity of each individual subject.
01:53For the first time in the development program of this drug, this symptom has been taken into consideration and quantified.
02:01This quantification has shown how Merikizumab is able to completely control, at the end of the treatment,
02:09I remember that 40 weeks was what was expected from the study in more than half of the patients,
02:14but what interests patients even more is that the control of this important symptom
02:18had already taken place from the first three weeks of treatment,
02:21therefore offering the hope, the possibility for these patients to see a life restored,
02:27which up to that point had been stolen from the disease.
02:31This is a drug, like all advanced therapies in the field of inflammatory intestinal diseases,
02:37it must be prescribed by a gastroenterologist specialist in these inflammatory chronic intestinal diseases.
02:46There are several reference centers throughout the national territory,
02:51they are centers that have the experience derived from the large volume of patients they see on a daily basis,
02:58which allows them to understand if a particular patient has indications for this drug,
03:04and above all to insert this drug into a therapeutic program
03:08that must take into consideration as a time frame the entire life of the patient
03:13and not just a limited period of time.