VIDEO: ‘Deep understanding’ of epidemiology, biology needed to achieve cure, prevent IBD
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DENVER — In a Healio video exclusive, James D. Lewis, MD, MSCE, a gastroenterologist at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, discusses what it might take to eventually cure or prevent inflammatory bowel disease.
According to Lewis, there has been “incredible” progress in IBD management over the past several decades with the expansion of new biologic therapies and small molecules. However, the field may have a hit a “therapeutic ceiling” with the currently available therapies, where the average medication works “20% to 30% better than placebo.”
A cure for or prevention of IBD could still be attainable, he noted, thanks to an increasingly diverse set of available therapies, the potential to combine them and the potential to identify high-risk populations before diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
But to achieve a cure or prevention, Lewis said, several fundamental questions need to be answered regarding the balance of benefits and harms for the intervention, as well as what defines a cure.
“I don’t think it is impossible that we could ever get to a cure or prevention strategy for IBD, but it’s going to clearly take deep understanding of both the epidemiology and biology of these diseases,” he said. “We are going to need to clearly identify the most important environmental triggers and have a fundamental understanding of the underlying biology, so that we can identify therapeutic targets to prevent the disease initiation or perpetuation.”
He continued, “It’s also going to take people, it’s going to take investigators who are willing to pursue a far-off goal and populations of high-risk individuals who are willing to participate in the research. And, of course, none of this will be possible without funders who are willing to support high-risk research.”
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Lewis J. Presentation Sp116: IBD Moonshot: What will it take to prevent or cure IBD? Presented at: Crohn’s and Colitis Congress; Jan. 19-21, 2023; Denver (hybrid meeting).
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