Infliximab

(Remicade®)

Remicade®

Drug updated on 4/17/2024

Dosage FormInjection (intravenous; 100 mg)
Drug ClassTumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers
Ongoing and
Completed Studies
ClinicalTrials.gov

Indication

  • Indicated for Crohn’s Disease: reducing signs and symptoms and inducing and maintaining clinical remission in adult patients with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy, and reducing the number of draining enterocutaneous and rectovaginal fistulas and maintaining fistula closure in adult patients with fistulizing disease.
  • Indicated for pediatric Crohn’s Disease: reducing signs and symptoms and inducing and maintaining clinical remission in pediatric patients 6 years of age and older with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy.
  • Indicated for ulcerative colitis: reducing signs and symptoms, inducing and maintaining clinical remission and mucosal healing, and eliminating corticosteroid use in adult patients with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy.
  • Indicated for pediatric ulcerative colitis: reducing signs and symptoms and inducing and maintaining clinical remission in pediatric patients 6 years of age and older with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy.
  • Indicated for rheumatoid arthritis in combination with methotrexate: reducing signs and symptoms, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with moderately to severely active disease.
  • Indicated for psoriatic arthritis: reducing signs and symptoms of active arthritis, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients.
  • Indicated for plaque psoriasis: treatment of adult patients with chronic severe (i.e., extensive and/or disabling) plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy and when other systemic therapies are medically less appropriate.
  • Indicated for ankylosing spondylitis: reducing signs and symptoms in adult patients with active disease.

Summary
This AI-generated content is provided without warranty and may be inaccurate or outdated; it should be used only as a research starting point, with no liability accepted for reliance on it. Learn more.

  • Infliximab (Remicade) is indicated for various conditions, including Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, and ankylosing spondylitis. It is effective in reducing signs and symptoms, as well as inducing and maintaining clinical remission.
  • Ninety systematic reviews/meta-analyses focused on the usage of infliximab across different diseases, such as palmoplantar psoriasis (PP and PPP), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), plaque psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis.
  • These studies cover a wide range of patient populations, especially adults with moderate-to-severe forms of these diseases. Several studies indicate varying efficacy across different patient subsets through subgroup analyses.
  • Compared to other biologics used for similar indications, such as TNF-a inhibitors, or immunomodulators like methotrexate or azathioprine, infliximab has enhanced efficacy, particularly in maintaining remission rates, especially in patients suffering from Crohn's disease.
  • Safety profile comparison shows that infliximab is broadly comparable to other biologics, with serious infections being a notable risk. However, specific adverse events vary depending on the condition treated.
  • In treating conditions like plaque psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, infliximab, along with other TNF inhibitors, demonstrates significant effectiveness, often outperforming systemic therapies by achieving PASI scores and ACR response metrics, respectively.
  • Infliximab demonstrates high efficacy in inducing and maintaining remission while treating Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, compared to small molecule inhibitors/biologic treatments, especially when used in combination therapy or as first-line biologic treatment.
  • The drug is also effective in reducing symptoms and inhibiting disease progression in patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis, although it may carry a risk of paradoxical psoriasis.
  • Studies highlight the effectiveness of infliximab for pediatric use, particularly with Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, by inducing and maintaining clinical remission.
  • Some studies explored infliximab’s drug survival rates and the outcomes of retreatment after a previous loss of response, indicating its sustained utility over long-term use.

Product Monograph / Prescribing Information

Document TitleYearSource
REMICADE (infliximab) Prescribing Information.2021Janssen Biotech, Inc., Horsham, PA

Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses

Document TitleYearSource
Small-molecule inhibitors and biologics for palmoplantar psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2024American Journal of Clinical Dermatology
Anti-TNF-α induced paradoxical psoriasis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review.2024Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology
Comparative efficacy of advanced therapies for achieving endoscopic outcomes in Crohn’s disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2024Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Discontinuation of anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy in patients with perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease: individual participant data meta-analysis of 309 patients from 12 studies.2024Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis
Infliximab for maintenance of medically-induced remission in Crohn’s disease.2024Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Comparison of infliximab with adalimumab for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2023BMC Opthalmology
Network meta-analysis on efficacy and safety of different biologics for ulcerative colitis.2023BMC Gastroenterology
Systematic review and meta-analysis: loss of response and need for dose escalation of infliximab and adalimumab in ulcerative colitis.2023Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Comparative speed of early symptomatic remission with advanced therapies for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2023American Journal of Gastroenterology
Systemic pharmacological treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis: a network meta-analysis.2023Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
The comparative efficacy and safety of biologics and small molecules for treating patients with ulcerative colitis in Portugal: a systematic literature review and network meta-analysis.2023European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences
Biosimilars for the treatment of psoriasis: a systematic review of clinical trials and observational studies.2023JAMA Dermatology
Network meta-analysis: efficacy and safety of treatments for fistulising Crohn’s disease.2023European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Systematic review of studies comparing infliximab and adalimumab in autoimmune uveitis.2023BMJ Open Ophthalmology
Use of biologics for the management of Crohn's disease: IG-IBD technical review based on the GRADE methodology.2023Digestive and Liver Disease
Comparison of infliximab with adalimumab for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2023BMC Ophthalmology
Therapeutic equivalence of biosimilar and reference biologic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2023JAMA Network Open
Comparing adalimumab and infliximab in the prevention of postoperative recurrence of Crohn’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2023Annals of Gastroenterology
Comparative efficacy and safety of combination therapy with infliximab for Crohn's disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2023International Journal of Colorectal Disease
Comparative efficacy of advanced treatments in biologic-naïve or biologic-experienced patients with ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2023International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
Dose escalation patterns of advanced therapies in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis: a systematic literature review.2023Advances in Therapy
Comparative efficacy of biologic therapies for inducing response and remission in fistulizing Crohn's disease: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.2023Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Efficacy and safety of TNF inhibitors in the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a systematic literature review.2023Pediatric Rheumatology Online Journal
Systematic literature review of real-world evidence on dose escalation and treatment switching in ulcerative colitis.2023ClinicoEconomic and Outcomes Research
Gender-based differences in response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapies for ulcerative colitis: individual participant data meta-analyses of clinical trials.2023Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Systematic review and meta-analysis: loss of response and need for dose escalation of infliximab and adalimumab in ulcerative colitis.2022Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Infliximab in hidradenitis suppurativa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2022Dermatologic Therapy
A systematic review on infliximab biosimilar SB2: from pre-clinical data to real-world evidence.2022Expert Opinion on Biological therapy
Infliximab as a second-line therapy for children with refractory Kawasaki disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.2022British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Comparative safety of infliximab and adalimumab on pregnancy outcomes of women with inflammatory bowel diseases: a systematic review & meta-analysis.2022BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Risk of hospitalization for serious infection after initiation of ustekinumab or other biologics in patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis.2022American College of Rheumatology
Biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for preventing radiographic progression in psoriatic arthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2022Pharmaceutics
Real-world effectiveness of biological therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis.2022Frontiers in Pharmacology
Prediction of relapse after anti-tumor necrosis factor cessation in Crohn's disease: individual participant data meta-analysis of 1317 patients from 14 studies.2022Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Efficacy and safety of adalimumab in comparison to infliximab for Crohn's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2022World Journal of Clinical Cases
The effect of pregnancy and inflammatory bowel disease on the pharmacokinetics of drugs related to inflammatory bowel disease-A systematic literature review.2022Pharmaceutics
Comparative efficacy and safety of infliximab and vedolizumab therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2022BMC Gastroenterology
Vasculitis induced by biological agents used in rheumatology practice: a systematic review.2022Archives of Rheumatology
Artesunate, imatinib, and infliximab in COVID-19: a rapid review and meta-analysis of current evidence.2022Immunity, Inflammation and Disease
Impact of biologics on health-related quality of life in patients with Ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.2022Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
Systemic pharmacological treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis: a network meta-analysis.2022Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Number needed to treat network meta-analysis to compare biologic drugs for moderate-to-severe psoriasis.2022Advances in Therapy
The risk of adverse effects of TNF-α inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a network meta-analysis.2022Frontiers in Immunology
A systematic review on biological therapies in juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: an evidence gap in precision medicine.2022Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology
Efficacy and safety of biologics and small molecule drugs for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2022The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Efficacy of biologic drugs in short-duration versus long-duration inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and an individual-patient data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.2022Gastroenterology
Targeted therapies for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of PASI response at 1 year.2022Journal of Dermatological Treatment
Systematic review and meta-analysis of biosimilar for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis informing the 2020 update of the Japan College of Rheumatology clinical practice guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis.2022Modern Rheumatology
Efficacy and tolerability of infliximab retreatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease
Efficacy of infliximab in the treatment of Kawasaki disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine
Efficacy of biological therapies and small molecules in moderate to severe ulcerative colitis: systematic review and network meta-analysis.2021BMJ Gut
P014 postoperative recurrence in Crohn's disease patients treated with adalimumab versus infliximab: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021American Journal of Gastroenterology
Comparative efficacy and safety of biologic therapies for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2021The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Anti-drug antibody formation against biologic agents in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021BioDrugs
The influence of proton pump inhibitor therapy on the outcome of infliximab therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: a patient-level meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies.2021BMJ Gut
Risk of herpes zoster associated with biological therapies for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021Medicine Open
Efficacy and safety of fecal transplantation versus targeted therapies in ulcerative colitis: network meta-analysis.2021Future Medicine
Efficacy and tolerability of infliximab retreatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease
Will the inducing and maintaining remission of non-biological agents and biological agents differ for Crohn's disease? The evidence from the network meta-analysis.2021Frontiers in Medicine
Dose adjustment of biologic treatments for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in the real world: a systematic review.2021Dermatology and Therapy
The efficacy and safety of infliximab and calcineurin inhibitors in steroid-refractory UC patients: a meta-analysis.2021Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology
Efficacy and safety of anti-TNFα therapy for uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2021Rheumatology and Therapy
Biological therapy in rheumatoid vasculitis: a systematic review.2021Clinical Rheumatology
Comparative of the effectiveness and safety of biological agents, tofacitinib, and fecal microbiota transplantation in ulcerative colitis: systematic review and network meta-analysis.2021Immunological Investigations
Systemic pharmacological treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis: a network meta-analysis.2021Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Systematic review and network meta-analysis: comparative efficacy and safety of biosimilars, biologics and JAK1 inhibitors for active Crohn disease.2021Frontiers in Pharmacology
Network meta-analysis of infliximab biosimilars for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.2021American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Adalimumab biosimilars in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review of the evidence for biosimilarity.2021Rheumatology Therapy
Differences in biologics for treating ankylosing spondylitis: the contribution of network meta-analysis.2021European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences
Efficacy and safety of subcutaneous infliximab versus adalimumab, etanercept and intravenous infliximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.2021Expert Review of Clinical Immunology
Efficacy of infliximab in treatment-resistant depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2020Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behaviour
Comparable long-term outcomes of cyclosporine and infliximab in patients with steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis.2020Frontiers in Medicine
Efficacy of infliximab, cyclosporine and tacrolimus on ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis.2020Medicine Open
Drug survival of biologics in treating ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of real-world evidence.2020BioDrugs
First- and second-line pharmacotherapies for patients with moderate to severely active ulcerative colitis: an updated network meta-analysis.2020Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Fourteen small molecule and biological agents for psoriatic arthritis: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.2020Medicine Open
Short-term effectiveness of biologics in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2020Journal of Dermatological Science
Efficacy of stekinumab vs. advanced therapies for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.2020Current Medical Research and Opinion
Systemic pharmacological treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis: a network meta-analysis.2020Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Efficacy and safety of biologics in psoriatic arthritis: a systematic literature review and network meta-analysis.2020RMD Open
Comparable long-term outcomes of cyclosporine and infliximab in patients with steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis.2020Frontiers in Medicine
Etrolizumab versus infliximab in the treatment of induction phase of ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and indirect comparison.2019Pharmacological Research
Infliximab clinically treating ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2019Pharmacological Research
Efficacy and safety of biologic agents and tofacitinib in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis: a systematic overview of meta-analyses.2019United European Gastroenterology Journal
Infliximab clinically treating ulcerative colitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2019Pharmacological Research
Anti-TNFα agents are the best choice in preventing postoperative Crohn’s disease: a meta-analysis.2019Digestive and Liver Disease
Comparison of adverse events of biologicals for treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a systematic review.2019Expert Opinion on Drug Safety
Efficacy and safety of systemic treatments in psoriatic arthritis: a systematic review, meta-analysis and GRADE evaluation.2019Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
Comparative efficacy of anti-TNF therapies for the prevention of postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of prospective trials.2019Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology
Efficacy and safety of infliximab in pediatric Crohn disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2019Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy
Comparative efficacy and safety of thirteen biologic therapies for patients with moderate or severe psoriasis: a network meta-analysis.2019Journal of Pharmacological Sciences
Long-term efficacy of novel therapies in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of PASI response.2019Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
Meta-analysis: the influence of preoperative infliximab use on postoperative complications of Crohn’s disease.2019Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Effect of accelerated infliximab induction on short- and long-term outcomes of acute severe ulcerative colitis: a retrospective multicenter study and meta-analysis.2019Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Clinical Practice Guidelines