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Darvadstrocel: A Review in Treatment-Refractory Complex Perianal Fistulas in Crohn’s Disease

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Abstract

Darvadstrocel (Alofisel®) consists of a suspension of expanded human allogeneic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (eASCs). It is the first mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) advanced therapy approved in the EU for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in adult patients with non-active/mildly active luminal Crohn’s disease, when fistulas have shown an inadequate response to ≥ 1 conventional or biologic therapy. In the pivotal phase 3 ADMIRE-CD trial in this difficult-to-treat patient population, after standard-of-care fistula conditioning, add-on therapy with a single dose of darvadstrocel (120 million eASC) administered into the tissue surrounding complex perianal fistulas was significantly more effective than placebo (saline), with the darvadstrocel group having a higher combined remission rate (i.e. clinically-assessed fistula closure plus MRI-assessed absence of abscesses) at 24 weeks in intent-to-treat (ITT primary analysis), modified ITT and per-protocol analyses. Clinical remission was maintained in > 50% of patients at 52 weeks’ follow-up. Given the very limited treatment options available for this difficult-to-treat rare condition, darvadstrocel is a promising, novel, minimally invasive therapy that represents an important advance in the therapeutic options for complex perianal fistulas in adult patients with non-active/mildly active luminal Crohn’s disease when fistulas have shown an inadequate response to ≥ 1 conventional or biologic therapy.

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Fig. 1

Reproduced from Panés and Rimola [1], with permission

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of darvadstrocel was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Lesley J. Scott

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  1. Lesley J. Scott
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Correspondence to Lesley J. Scott.

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Conflicts of interest

Lesley Scott is a salaried employee of Adis/Springer, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

The manuscript was reviewed by: S. Adegbola, St. Mark’s Hospital, Imperial College, London, UK; F. Bermejo, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain.

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Scott, L.J. Darvadstrocel: A Review in Treatment-Refractory Complex Perianal Fistulas in Crohn’s Disease. BioDrugs 32, 627–634 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40259-018-0311-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40259-018-0311-4

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