Novel oral-targeted therapies for mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic, relapsing, remitting disease of the colon and rectum, is characterized by inflammatory ulceration of the mucosa. Current UC therapy relies on controlling acute episodes and preventing relapse. To predict modifications in the natural course of UC, mucosal healing (MH) has emerged as a major treatment goal. Endoscopic evaluation is considered the gold standard for assessing MH, which can be achieved by conventional drugs and biologics in many, but not all, patients. Consequently, interest is focusing on the development of new substances for UC therapy, and new oral agents are in the pipeline. This review will focus on the ability of newly developed oral drugs to induce and maintain MH in UC patients.

Keywords: Mucosal healing; New oral treatments; Ozanimod; Peficitinib; Tofacitinib; Ulcerative colitis

Core tip: The disease activity of ulcerative colitis (UC) is not sufficiently controlled in a subgroup of patients under the current therapeutic regimens. New oral substances are in the pipeline for treating UC. Mucosal healing (MH) has emerged as an important predictor of modifications in the natural disease course of UC. This review describes the efficacy of new oral drugs in inducing and maintaining MH in UC.