Even if it is less known than Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC), another IBD (chronic inflammatory bowel disease), is also a very disabling disease on a daily basis. In one communicated, the French biotechnology company, Abivax, defends “impressive” and convincing results of the second phase of its clinical trial around the ABX464 molecule. The latter, integrated into an oral treatment, would improve the symptoms of patients.
A decrease in symptoms
Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the rectum and colon. On a daily basis, patients suffer from painful intestinal cramps and are forced to go to the toilet about ten times a day. Today, there is no cure, only drugs to reduce the inflammation responsible for the disease and to relieve the main symptoms.
To assess the effectiveness of a molecule already tested on the HIV virus, ABX464, the laboratory carried out a clinical study. For eight weeks, the drug incorporating ABX464 – in the form of a single tablet to be swallowed daily – to 20 patients while 10 other patients were taking a placebo. The study was conducted blindly: neither the patients nor the doctors knew who was ingesting what. At the end of the trial, 35% of the patients saw their symptoms almost disappear thanks to the treatment, compared to 11% with the placebo. 50% had an almost normal mucosa on colonoscopy, compared to 11% on the placebo.
ABX464, effective against other diseases?
“These impressive clinical data highlight the potential of ABX464’s unique mechanism of action to safely and effectively deliver clinical benefits [importants] to patients who are not properly treated with current medications, and who are facing the devastating consequences of this inflammatory disease ”, concludes in the press release Professor Hartmut Ehrlich, Managing Director of Abivax.
Additional tests should be performed before the treatment is marketed. Its arrival on the market should not be done for five to ten years. In addition, other trials around Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis should be conducted.
Read also :
- A web series to explain IBD
- Patients with Mici do not have a good quality of life