New and emerging biologics in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: quo vadis?

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are pathological conditions characterized by chronic inflammation that is primarily the consequence of dysregulation of the immune response. Over the last decade, the advances in the pathophysiology of IBD have paved the way for the development of a number of biological agents that selectively target specific molecules and/or pathways involved in gut inflammation. Although numerous, so far, the only biological therapeutics that are approved for the treatment for IBD are monoclonal antibodies against tumor necrosis factor alpha. This paper systematically reviews the mechanismof-action, efficacy, short-term and, where available, long-term safety of biological agents that target molecules other than tumor necrosis factor alpha, in IBD.