Treatment with tofacitinib (Xeljanz) proved to be rapidly effective for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC), even in patients who previously failed tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibition, post hoc analysis of trial data indicated.
While the oral small-molecule JAK inhibitor had greater efficacy than placebo for both induction and maintenance of remission, rates of herpes zoster (serious and non-serious) were numerically higher in tofacitinib recipients, regardless of previous response to TNF inhibition, reported William Sandborn, MD, of the University of California San Diego.