Drug for Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Physician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, involved in clinical trials for a new drug for those who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), say it is the best option among available drugs. Gaizo is a reformulation of the active ingredient 5-ASA in currently available drugs. However, the researchers found that 99 percent of the active ingredient in the new pill is released in the colon compared to only 70 percent in other common IBD drugs.
Dr. Ellen Scherl—the Jill Roberts Associate Professor of IBD and director of the Jill Roberts Center for IBD at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center—led the trial, and found that the greatest benefit to Gaizo is the lowered pill burden for patients. Because there is more of the active drug per pill, patients can take the drug less frequently. In the past, patients would have to take three pills between three and four times each day. But now, patients only need to take the drug twice daily. This is especially important because most IBD-sufferers are young teens or in their 20s, and are the most likely patient-group to miss a dose.
IBD includes two diseases: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Both cause inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, leading to bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss. Drugs to treat IBD are designed to decrease the inflammation in the mucosal lining of the colon.#
