AbbVie highlights new long-term data advancing treatment standards in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at 2026 Digestive Disease Week®

AbbVie announced the presentation of new data across its gastroenterology portfolio at the 2026 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) Annual Meeting, May 2-5 in Chicago. AbbVie will present 18 abstracts, including real-world evidence and long-term findings for Skyrizi (risankizumab-rzaa) and Rinvoq (upadacitinib) in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

“As a leader in gastroenterology, AbbVie remains focused on advancing the understanding of IBD and helping raise the standard of care through scientific innovation and a broad portfolio of marketed and investigational therapies,” said Andrew Anisfeld, Ph.D., vice president, global medical affairs, immunology, AbbVie. “Our research presented at DDW adds to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the sustained durability of clinical and endoscopic response, as well as the established safety profile, of risankizumab and upadacitinib for people living with IBD.”

Real-World Data for Patients on Risankizumab in Crohn’s Disease

• Sustained symptom relief and reduced need for concomitant therapy: A 52-week follow-up of adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease treated with risankizumab from the ASPIRE-CD study showed rapid and sustained improvements in abdominal pain, bowel urgency and liquid/soft stools. Among patients with extraintestinal manifestations of arthritis and skin conditions, 25% and 46%, respectively, reported experiencing relief at Week 52. By Week 52, the use of corticosteroids decreased from 34% at baseline to 7%, and over-the-counter therapies had decreased from 72% at baseline to 49%.
• Improved quality of life: In an analysis of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and treatment satisfaction after initiating risankizumab in patients enrolled in the ASPIRE-CD study, 77% reported improvement in life enjoyment by Week 52. In addition, patients had improved general wellbeing, including improved sexual health and improved work productivity and daily activity levels one year after starting risankizumab. Overall satisfaction with Crohn’s disease treatments improved among all patients (from 50% at baseline to nearly 87% at Week 52), particularly patients who were still being treated with risankizumab at Week 52 (92% satisfaction).

Low Switch Rate for Risankizumab Among Crohn’s Disease Patients

• Treatment persistence: A real-world study of US claims data analyzed the switch rates over a 24-month period among patients with Crohn’s disease initiating a new biologic therapy. It found the switch rate was 14% for risankizumab, compared with 21% for ustekinumab, 30% for vedolizumab, 33% for infliximab, and 36% for adalimumab. This pattern was also seen among biologic-naïve patients.

Lower Odds of Hospitalization Observed After Switch to Upadacitinib

• Biologic dose-escalation vs. switching to upadacitinib in a real-world setting: A retrospective analysis of US claims data found that among patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis treated with a biologic therapy, patients who were switched to upadacitinib had a 31% lower odds of hospitalization and 26% lower odds of emergency department visits than those who increased average weekly dose of the biologic therapy.

Endoscopic Improvements in Difficult-to-Treat Crohn’s Disease

• Treating patients with Perianal Fistulizing Crohn’s disease: Among patients with Perianal Fistulizing Crohn’s disease (PFCD), in two Phase 3 trials, those who responded to upadacitinib 45 mg were re-randomized to receive maintenance treatment with upadacitinib (15 mg or 30 mg) or placebo for 52 weeks. In this post-hoc analysis, upadacitinib-treated patients showed endoscopic improvements through 52 weeks, regardless of fistula response, as demonstrated by reductions in Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s disease (SES-CD). Majority of these patients were without an adequate response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy.

Select AbbVie abstracts are highlighted below, and all the 2026 DDW Annual Meeting posters are available here:

 

Abstract Title	Presentation Number
Real-World Switching Rates Among Patients with Crohn’s Disease Treated with Biologics in the United States	Su1657
Improvements in Simple Endoscopic Scores for Crohn’s Disease in Upadacitinib-Treated Patients with Perianal Fistulizing Disease: Post Hoc Analysis of the Phase 3 Trials	Su1495
Risankizumab Reduces Crohn’s Disease-Related Symptoms and Concomitant Therapy Use in Adults with Crohn’s Disease: Year 1 Results From the ASPIRE-CD Study	Sa1504
Risankizumab Improves Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults with Crohn’s Disease: Year 1 Results from the ASPIRE-CD Study	Mo1674
Comparative Real-World Outcomes Following Dose Escalation of Current Biologic Therapy Versus Switching to Upadacitinib Among Patients with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis	Tu1655

 

About Skyrizi (risankizumab-rzaa) 
SKYRIZI is an interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor that blocks IL-23 by selectively binding to its p19 subunit. IL-23, a cytokine involved in inflammatory processes, is thought to be linked to a number of chronic immune-mediated diseases.1 SKYRIZI is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease.1

On April 27, 2026, AbbVie announced submission of an application to the FDA seeking approval of SKYRIZI® for subcutaneous induction for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active CD