Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited has submitted marketing authorisation application (MAA) to The European Medicines Agency (EMA) for vedolizumab, an investigational, gut-selective humanized monoclonal antibody for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), the two most common types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If approved, vedolizumab would be the first and only gut-selective biologic agent for UC and CD on the market.

“Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are chronic debilitating diseases with important unmet medical needs, often affecting young people in the prime of their lives,” said Asit Parikh, MD, PhD, vice president, general medicine, Takeda. “We are encouraged by the findings of GEMINI, the vedolizumab phase III clinical development programme, which studied approximately 3,000 patients in nearly 40 countries, making it the largest IBD clinical trial program conducted to date.”

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic diseases that cause inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract. Inflammation caused by CD can involve varying areas of the digestive tract, while UC impacts the colon only.CD and UC can be both painful and debilitating, which may sometimes lead to serious complications and can significantly impact the quality of life for patients.

The MAA submission was supported by phase III clinical studies, GEMINI I, GEMINI II, GEMINI III and GEMINI LTS (Long-term Safety), which are part of the GEMINI Studies, a four-study clinical research programme to investigate the efficacy and safety of vedolizumab on clinical response and remission in moderately to severely active CD and UC patients, who had failed at least one conventional or anti-TNFa therapy.

“With a targeted mechanism of action, vedolizumab has clinical promise as a potential treatment option for people with moderate to severely active CD and UC,” said Paul Rutgeerts, MD, PhD., FRCP, professor of medicine, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. “While there is no known cure, there is a need for new CD and UC treatment options, in an effort to provide patients with additional choices for managing their disease, reducing symptoms and achieving remission.”

Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is marked by inflammation in the lining of the GI tract. CD can impact any part of the digestive tract, and common symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss, and/or fever. UC impacts the large intestine only, which includes the colon and the rectum. The most common symptoms of UC include abdominal discomfort and blood or pus in diarrhea. There is no known cause for CD or UC, although many researchers believe that the interaction of an outside agent, such as a virus or bacteria, with the body’s immune system may trigger them. No cure exists for CD or UC; the aim of IBD treatments is to induce and maintain remission, or achieve extended periods of time when patients do not experience symptoms.

Vedolizumab was developed for the treatment of CD and UC, as a gut-selective, humanized monoclonal antibody that specifically antagonizes the alpha4beta7 (a4ß7) integrin, which is expressed on a subset of circulating white blood cells. These cells have been shown to play a role in mediating the inflammatory process in CD and UC. a4ß7 binds with a specific adhesion molecule primarily expressed in the intestinal tract. Therefore, vedolizumab, by preventing this interaction, has a gut selective effect.

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