Clinical Medicine Insights: Gastroenterology

Treatment with Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (anti-TNF) therapy has become a mainstay of therapy for patients with CD who are unresponsive to conventional medical management. Currently there are three anti-TNF antibodies that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of CD, namely infliximab, adalimumab and certolizumab pegol (CZP). Several double blind placebo controlled trials determined that CZP is effective as induction and maintenance treatment in adult patients with CD regardless of their prior exposure to other anti-TNF antibodies. This review discusses the efficacy of CZP and adherence to therapy with anti-TNF antibodies in patients with CD.