Eli Lilly's Omvoh (mirikizumab-mrkz) has demonstrated sustained therapeutic benefit after four years of treatment in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), according to final data from the Phase III LUCENT-3 open-label extension trial presented at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week in Berlin.
The interleukin-23p19 (IL-23p19) inhibitor showed remarkable durability in maintaining clinical remission, with patients achieving sustained, long-term benefit including those who had previously failed biologic or advanced therapies.
Long-Term Efficacy Results
Among patients who achieved clinical remission with Omvoh at one year, 78% maintained both corticosteroid-free clinical remission and sustained long-term clinical remission in the four-year follow-up period. The drug also demonstrated strong endoscopic outcomes, with 81% of patients retaining endoscopic remission.
Quality of life measures showed significant improvements, with 90% of patients achieving remission on the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ). Bowel urgency, a particularly burdensome symptom for UC patients, showed marked improvement with 93% of patients achieving a 3 or more-point reduction on the Urgency Numeric Rating Scale (UNRS), and 74% achieving an UNRS score of 0 or 1 on the 0-10 scale that measures bowel urgency severity.
Clinical Significance
Dr. Bruce Sands, Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, emphasized the clinical importance of these findings: "These long-term findings reinforce Omvoh as a highly effective biologic for UC management, showing sustained clinical, endoscopic and steroid-free remission over four years, and improvement in bowel urgency, which can present a significant burden on patients' lives."
Regulatory Status and Pipeline Development
Lilly received FDA approval for Omvoh in UC in October 2023 based on the LUCENT programme. The drug has also secured approval for moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. The company is expanding its development program to include pediatric UC and investigating combination therapy with monoclonal antibody eltrekibart in adults with UC.
Market Projections
GlobalData forecasts significant growth in the UC market, predicting an increase from £11.1 billion in 2021 to $14.7 billion in 2031 across 68 markets, with $9.6 billion expected from the eight major markets (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, and Canada). Omvoh is projected to capture a substantial market share, with estimated revenues of $1.12 billion by 2031.
