Does Mirikizumab need to be taken for life?

Mirikizumab (Mirikizumab)-Omvoh is a monoclonal antibody directed against IL-23, mainly used to treat autoimmune diseases such as moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. There is actually no unified answer as to whether lifelong use of the drug is required. The key lies in the individual circumstances and changes in the patient's condition.

The dosing regimen of militizumab includes an induction phase and a maintenance phase. During the induction phase, the recommended dose is 300mg, with patients receiving intravenous infusions at weeks 0, 4 and 8. This stage aims to quickly control the patient's condition and achieve clinical remission. If the patient does not show efficacy from extended induction therapy within 24 weeks, the doctor will consider discontinuing the drug. This means that for some patients, militizumab may not be effective long-term, especially in the early stages.

After entering the maintenance period, the recommended maintenance dose is200mg, first administered subcutaneously at week 12, and every 4 weeks thereafter. The purpose of this maintenance treatment is to keep the condition stable and prevent recurrence. However, treatment effects vary from person to person. If a patient loses treatment response during the maintenance period, doctors can take some measures, such as re-induction therapy, which is intravenous infusion of 300 mg of milizumab every 4 weeks for a total of 3 doses, to regain the treatment effect.

Although some patients may need long-term use of this drug to maintain stable disease, it may not work for all patients. Many factors influence the continuation of treatment, including the patient's overall health, tolerance of the medication, and potential side effects. Therefore, physicians regularly evaluate the patient's condition and response to treatment to decide whether to continue medication or adjust the treatment plan.

References:https://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/community-register/2023/20230526159252/anx_159252_en.pdf