AbbVie presents long-term SKYRIZI and RINVOQ remission data, real-world treatment response and healthcare resource use findings in IBD at UEGW 2026.
Written By: Anshu Gupta, PharmD
Reviewed By: Pharmacally Editorial Team
AbbVie announced 20 scientific abstracts from its inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) portfolio at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2026, held from October 17–20 in Barcelona, Spain. The presentations examine long-term outcomes with SKYRIZI® (risankizumab) and RINVOQ® (upadacitinib), as well as real-world treatment response and healthcare resource use in Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).
Long-Term Risankizumab Outcomes in Ulcerative Colitis
The COMMAND study (NCT03398135) evaluated risankizumab maintenance treatment in patients with moderately to severely active UC. According to AbbVie, clinical and endoscopic improvements were sustained for up to three years of maintenance treatment.
At Week 96, as-observed clinical remission rates with risankizumab 180 mg ranged from 54.0% to 73.1%, while endoscopic remission rates ranged from 38.8% to 53.5%. The ranges reflect outcomes across patients who were naïve to advanced therapies and those previously exposed to them.
These findings extend the evidence on maintenance outcomes across treatment-exposure groups. However, the results are based on patients assessed at the specified time point and should not be interpreted as remission rates among all patients originally enrolled. The available announcement does not establish that the treatment has the same effectiveness in every patient subgroup.
Upadacitinib Outcomes Through Week 144 in Crohn’s Disease
Long-term extension analyses from U-ENDURE (NCT03345823) evaluated upadacitinib maintenance treatment in patients with moderately to severely active CD.
At Week 144, clinical remission was reported in 78.9% of patients receiving 15 mg and 86.6% receiving 30 mg. Endoscopic remission rates were 47.1% and 64.2%, respectively.
The findings indicate that clinical and endoscopic outcomes were maintained during extended treatment in the reported analyses. The numerically higher remission rates with 30 mg are descriptive findings and do not, by themselves, demonstrate statistically significant superiority over 15 mg. As-observed results also require consideration of the patients available for assessment at long-term follow-up.
Real-World Treatment Response with Upadacitinib
The prospective, observational UPlift study (NCT05930275) evaluated the onset and durability of upadacitinib effectiveness in routine clinical practice among patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. Among 497 evaluable patients, 70.2% achieved a clinical response within 12 weeks. The median time to first response was 13 days.
These findings provide information on the timing and frequency of treatment response outside a controlled clinical trial. However, the results should be interpreted in the context of the study population, response criteria and follow-up period. The reported median time to response does not mean that all patients experienced improvement within two weeks.
A separate propensity score-matched claims analysis compared healthcare resource use after switching from a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) to upadacitinib with cycling to another TNFi in patients with UC or CD. The analysis included 514 patients.
Over 12 months, IBD-related hospitalisations occurred in 9.5% of patients who switched to upadacitinib, compared with 16.3% of those who cycled to another TNFi. Surgery rates were 6.9% and 10.6%, respectively.
The findings show lower observed rates of hospitalisation and surgery in the upadacitinib group. Nevertheless, claims-based analyses can be affected by residual confounding despite statistical matching. The differences therefore do not establish that switching to upadacitinib directly caused the lower rates.
Additional Research in Crohn’s Disease
AbbVie also highlighted further analyses from the Phase 3 AFFIRM study of subcutaneous risankizumab induction and maintenance in CD. The presentations examine outcomes according to prior advanced therapy exposure and further characterise clinical and endoscopic outcomes among patients who responded to subcutaneous induction and continued treatment.
The company also reported findings from TARGET-CD (NCT06548542), a Phase 2a study evaluating ABBV-466, an investigational dual-targeting therapy combining risankizumab, an interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor, with trosunilimab, an α4β7 inhibitor. The approach is designed to target complementary inflammatory pathways in CD. The therapy remains investigational, and its safety and efficacy have not been established by regulatory authorities.
Clinical Interpretation
The UEGW 2026 presentations add to the evidence on long-term disease control with risankizumab and upadacitinib while providing real-world information on treatment response and healthcare resource use. The results also highlight the importance of distinguishing clinical remission, endoscopic remission and clinical response, which measure different aspects of disease activity.
Long-term extension findings and observational analyses complement controlled clinical trial evidence but have different limitations. These data do not establish comparative superiority between SKYRIZI and RINVOQ. Their clinical relevance depends on the individual study design, outcome definitions, patient population and duration of follow-up.
References
AbbVie. SKYRIZI® (risankizumab) and RINVOQ® (upadacitinib) Data Highlight Long-Term Clinical and Endoscopic Outcomes Across Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) at UEGW 2026. October 17, 2026
Study of Targeted Therapies for the Treatment of Adult Participants with Moderate to Severe Crohn’s Disease (Target CD), ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT06548542
A Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Risankizumab in Participants with Ulcerative Colitis (COMMAND), ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03398135
A Maintenance and Long-Term Extension Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Upadacitinib (ABT-494) in Participants with Crohn’s Disease Who Completed the Studies M14-431 or M14-433 (U-ENDURE), ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03345823
Study to Assess Speed of Onset and Durability of Effectiveness of Upadacitinib in Adult Participants with Moderate to Severe Crohn’s Disease (CD) in Real World Clinical Practice. (UPlift), ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05930275
About the Writer
Anshu Gupta (LinkedIn) is a PharmD professional and healthcare writer with interests in clinical research, pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs, and medical writing. She has presented research at academic conferences and completed certifications in Good Clinical Practice (GCP), ICH-GCP, and drug safety. Passionate about clinical trials and evidence-based medicine, she is committed to translating scientific evidence into accurate, reliable, and accessible healthcare content.