Killed Vaccines Are Effective in Infants of Mothers on Biologics for IBD

With the exception of certolizumab-pegol, biologic agents for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cross the placenta and are measurable in newborns' blood for up to 12 months. This has led to intense interest in the risk for serious infections in newborns born to mothers on biologic agents.

In this study, researchers evaluated the efficacy of the usual newborn vaccine regimen among infants of mothers who took biologic agents during pregnancy. Mothers were part of a prospective registry and agreed to measurement of their infants' antibody titers to Haemophilus influenza B (HiB) and tetanus toxin at age ≥7 months.

Protective antibody titers to HiB were found in 71% of 42 infants exposed to biologic agents and in 50% of 8 unexposed infants. For tet…