5 Gastroenterology Headlines You Missed in February 2026

February 2026 was defined by durability data and real-world insight across inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with multiple long-term analyses presented at the 21st Congress of European Crohn’s and Colitis Congress (ECCO). Extended findings from the LUCENT clinical program reinforced sustained efficacy and safety of mirikizumab in ulcerative colitis (UC) through 4 years of continuous therapy, strengthening its position as a potential disease-modifying option. Complementing this, head-to-head SEQUENCE data continued to shape treatment sequencing decisions in Crohn’s disease, particularly for patients with prior anti-TNF exposure, while interim results from the real-world PROFUNDUS study helped clarify how upadacitinib performs outside the constraints of randomized trials.

February also highlighted the importance of long-term safety, durability, and accurate disease characterization. 3-year extension data from VIVID-2 offered additional reassurance regarding sustained benefit of IL-23p19 inhibition in Crohn’s disease. At the same time, efforts to refine ICD coding for short bowel syndrome underscored how classification and documentation influence the understanding of true disease burden, resource utilization, and care delivery.

Check out this February 2026 gastroenterology month in review for a recap of HCPLive’s coverage of the top GI news and research from the past few weeks:

LUCENT: Durable UC Control With Mirikizumab Through 4 Years, With Fernando Magro, MD, PhD

Long-term findings from the LUCENT clinical program continue to strengthen the case for mirikizumab (Omvoh) as a potential disease-modifying therapy in moderately-to-severely active UC. Data presented at the 21st Congress of ECCO demonstrate the p19-directed interleukin (IL)-23 monoclonal antibody’s sustained efficacy and safety through 212 weeks of continuous treatment across the LUCENT-1 (induction), LUCENT-2 (maintenance), and LUCENT-3 (open-label extension) trials.

How Head-to-Head SEQUENCE Data Shape Crohn’s Disease Treatment Decisions, With Raja Atreya, MD

New long-term data from the SEQUENCE program, presented at the the 21st Congress of ECCO, continue to reinforce the clinical impact of risankizumab (Skyrizi) in moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease, particularly among patients with prior anti-TNF failure. In discussing the findings, Raja Atreya, MD, head of the IBD Center at University Hospital of Erlangen, characterized SEQUENCE as a “landmark” trial and emphasized that its design and durability data are directly shaping real-world decision-making.

PROFUNDUS: Real-World Outcomes With Upadacitinib in Ulcerative Colitis, With Remo Panaccione, MD

New interim data from the ongoing PROFUNDUS study, presented at the 21st Congress of ECCO, provide important real-world insight into the effectiveness and safety of upadacitinib (Rinvoq) in patients with moderate-to-severe UC. While randomized controlled trials established the drug’s efficacy under tightly controlled conditions, the PROFUNDUS findings help clarify how those results translate into everyday clinical practice.

3-Year Efficacy, Safety of Mirikizumab in Crohn’s Disease: Insights From VIVID-2, With Edward Barnes, MD, MPH

Long-term durability remains one of the central questions in the management of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. While many advanced therapies demonstrate strong induction and shorter-term maintenance data, clinicians often grapple with whether those benefits persist and whether safety signals emerge with longer exposure.

New 3-year results from the ongoing VIVID-2 extension study offer important insight into the sustained efficacy and safety of mirikizumab, a selective IL-23p19 monoclonal antibody that earned US Food and Drug Administration approval for Crohn’s in January 2025 based on positive results from the phase 3 VIVID-1 study in adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s who had an inadequate response, loss of response, or intolerance to corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and/or biologics.

ICD-10 Adoption and the True Burden of Short Bowel Syndrome, With Alan Buchman, MD, MSPH

Accurately defining the population of patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) and intestinal failure has long been a challenge in gastroenterology. In an effort to bring greater clarity to the field, Alan Buchman MD, MSPH, a professor of Clinical Surgery and Medical Director of the Intestinal Rehabilitation and Transplant Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago and director of gastroenterology at Elevance Health, led the introduction of new, more specific ICD-10-CM codes for SBS, along with corresponding updates to World Health Organization ICD-11 classifications. His recent real-world US claims analysis presented at the ASPEN 2026 Nutrition Science and Practice Conference examined how widely those codes have been adopted and what that adoption, or lack thereof, reveals about disease burden and clinical practice.