Entyvio set to be most dominant drug in the UC landscape, says analyst

Results of the VARSITY trial, a head-to-head Phase IIIb double-blind, double-dummy, multicenter active controlled study, that evaluates the efficacy and safety of Japan pharma major Takeda’s (TYO: 4502) Entyvio (vedolizumab), compared to AbbVie’s (NYSE: ABBV) Humira (adalimumab) in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC), were announced at the ECCO Conference 2019 in Copenhagen, and look set to have an impact on the therapy sector.

“Entyvio will most likely be the dominant drug in the UC landscape. In the overall analysis of the VARSITY trial after a year, 31.3% of patients suffering from moderate to severe UC achieved clinical remission whilst using Entyvio, compared to 22.5% of patients using Humira,” commented GlobalData pharma analyst Patrick Aiyes.

Entyvio also boasted a superior safety profile than Humira with 62.7% and 69.2% respectively, experiencing an adverse event. As its mechanism of action shows both superior efficacy and safety results compared to Humira which is an anti-TNF similar to Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) Remicade ((infliximab) Entyvio will most likely displace it as the most dominant medication in UC, he said.