Biologic drugs for inflammatory bowel disease.

Biologics have become widely used as an innovative therapy for the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and intestinal Behcet's disease. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a is one of the crucial mediators in these diseases, and biological therapies targeting TNF-a are efficacious for the management of IBD refractory to conventional therapies. Anti TNF-a monoclonal antibodies such as infliximab and adalimumab have been shown to have efficacy in IBD. In addition, biological therapies other than TNF-a antibody, such as ustekinumab, vedolizumab and tofacitinib, are also expected to be used for IBD in the near future in Japan.