Abbott's Humira maintains 1-year remission in Crohn's

US health care major Abbott Laboratories reported study data showing that patients with moderate to severely-active Crohn's disease treated with Humira (adalimumab) were more likely to maintain clinical remission through one year than subjects on placebo, regardless of the frequency of the dosing regimen. The news sent the firm's shares price up $0.15 to $41.97 in afternoon trading on May 22, the day the results were announced at the Digestive Disease Week annual meeting in Los Angeles, USA.

Data from the CHARM trial will support Abbott's anticipated regulatory filing for Crohn's, which is the fourth of six autoimmune diseases targeted for Humira therapy. The evaluation found that patient remission rates were maintained through 56 weeks in those who demonstrated response to the agent during a four-week open-label induction phase, as measured by a decrease in their Crohn's Disease Activity Index.