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Adalimumab

Groundbreaking Research Reveals 'Top-Down' Approach Effectively Treats Crohn's Disease

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Research led by Professor Miles Parkes has shown that a 'top-down' approach to treating Crohn's disease, involving early effective treatment with biologic medications, is significantly more effective than existing 'step-up' methods in controlling symptoms and inflammation. The study, published in the Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, found that the 'top-down' approach fully controlled symptoms and inflammation in 80% of patients, compared to 15% for the existing 'step-up' method. The economic analysis, conducted by Cogentia, also revealed that this approach could save the NHS up to £20m per year by reducing the cost of patient care.

Key Takeaways:

  • The 'top-down' approach, involving early effective treatment with biologic medications, is five times more effective at helping patients control inflammation compared to existing treatment methods.
  • The top-down approach resulted in less frequent flares, less admissions to hospital, less need for steroid medication, fewer complications, and overall a much better quality of life for patients.
  • The study, led by Professor Miles Parkes, recruited nearly 400 patients from 40 hospitals in the UK and was sponsored by CUH and the University of Cambridge.
  • The economic analysis found that the 'top-down' approach could save the NHS up to £20m per year by reducing the cost of patient care.
  • Infliximab and adalimumab, existing drugs already used to treat Crohn's disease, were found to be effective in controlling symptoms and inflammation in patients with the 'top-down' approach.
  • The study's findings have been welcomed by patient advocacy groups, including Crohn's and Colitis UK, which has called for national reimbursement guidelines to be updated to encourage more widespread use of the 'top-down' approach.

Statistics:

  • The 'top-down' approach fully controlled symptoms and inflammation in 80% of patients, compared to 15% for the existing 'step-up' method.
  • The study followed nearly 400 patients newly-diagnosed with Crohn's disease for a year to assess how well the different methods could control symptoms and inflammation.
  • Approximately 190,000 people in the UK live with Crohn's disease, and 10,000 are newly-diagnosed annually.
  • The study found that the 'top-down' approach could reduce the cost of patient care by up to £10,000 per patient over a five-year period.
  • The 'top-down' approach resulted in less frequent flares (62% reduction), less admissions to hospital (53% reduction), less need for steroid medication (50% reduction), fewer complications (45% reduction), and overall a much better quality of life for patients.

Sources:

  • Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Journal of Crohn's and Colitis
  • Cogentia (part of Helios Global Group)
  • Crohn's and Colitis UK
  • Wellcome
  • NIHR Cambridge BRC
  • NIHR Research Delivery Network
  • Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit

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