Efficacy and safety of vedolizumab in Crohn's disease in patients from Asian countries in the GEMINI 2 study

Background/aims: The efficacy and safety of vedolizumab in moderate-to-severely active Crohn's disease (CD) were demonstrated in the GEMINI 2 study (NCT00783692). This post-hoc exploratory analysis aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of vedolizumab in the subgroup of patients from Asian countries.

Methods: During the induction phase (doses at day 1, 15), clinical remission, enhanced clinical response, and change in C-reactive protein at 6 weeks; during the maintenance phase, clinical remission, enhanced clinical response, glucocorticoid-free remission and durable clinical remission at 52 weeks, were the efficacy outcomes of interest. Efficacy and safety of vedolizumab compared to placebo were assessed in Asian countries (Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) using descriptive analyses.

Results: During the induction phase, in Asian countries (n = 51), 14.7% of the vedolizumab-treated patients achieved clinical remission at week 6 compared to none with placebo (difference, 14.7%; 95% confidence interval, 15.8%-43.5%). In non-Asian countries (n = 317), the remission rate at week 6 with vedolizumab was 14.5%. During maintenance, in Asian countries, clinical remission rates at 52 weeks with vedolizumab administered every 4 weeks, vedolizumab administered every 8 weeks and placebo were 41.7%, 36.4%, and 0%, respectively; while enhanced clinical response rates were 41.7%, 63.6%, and 42.9%, respectively. During induction, 39.7% of patients with vedolizumab experienced an adverse event compared to 58.8% of patients with placebo, and vedolizumab was generally well-tolerated.

Conclusions: This post-hoc analysis demonstrates the treatment effect and safety of vedolizumab in moderateto-severely active CD in patients from Asian countries.