If conventional IBD treatments aren’t working, vedolizumab is an alternative. Therapeutic drug monitoring helps improve treatment success with vedolizumab.
For patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, there are a whole range of medications available – from glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants to TNF-α inhibitors. Yet in many cases, treatment fails to work. Either patients respond only briefly or not at all, or side effects make further treatment impossible. For these patients, the active ingredient vedolizumab is a new alternative.
Vedolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody from the group of integrin antagonists that has been approved for treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease since 2014. What makes vedolizumab unique compared to other medications is that it targets the colon directly. The antibody binds highly selectively to α4β7 integrin on the proinflammatory lymphocytes, keeping them out of the gut and thus suppressing inflammation. The GEMINI I trial demonstrated the effectiveness of vedolizumab, including up to clinical remission.
Therapeutic drug monitoring of vedolizumab
Vedolizumab is administered as an intravenous infusion. A sufficient concentration of the active ingredient in the blood is critical for the treatment’s success. The concentration in the blood, however, differs from patient to patient even at the identical dosage. Because an adequate trough level concentration is associated with improved remission, it is critical to monitor the serum concentration of vedolizumab. The dosage can be raised or lowered as necessary to achieve long-term success.
Our complete portfolio for therapeutic drug monitoring includes the following tests:
- RIDASCREEN® IFX Monitoring (Art. No. G09041)
- RIDASCREEN® Anti-IFX Antibodies (Art. No. G09042)
- RIDASCREEN® ADM Monitoring (Art. No. G09043)
- RIDASCREEN® Anti-ADM Antibodies (Art. No. G09044)
- RIDASCREEN® VDZ Monitoring (Art. No. G09045)
- RIDA®QUICK IFX Monitoring (Art. No. GN3041)
