Doctors will be able to prescribe a new treatment for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), after the UK medicines watchdog approved guselkumab (Tremfya) for use on the NHS.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the biological treatment as an option for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who have not responded well to other treatments or have experienced unacceptable side effects.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease—two types of IBD that cause inflammation and ulcers in the large bowel or gut—together affect an estimated 500 000 people in the UK, said the charity UK Crohn’s and Colitis UK. Inflammatory bowel diseases can develop at any age but are most often diagnosed in people under 30.
Guselkumab is …
