Fibrostenosis is intestinal inflammation-driven fibrotic obstruction, most commonly seen in the Crohn’s disease (CD) category of IBD. Some 0.8% of the population of Western advanced countries are estimated to have IBD, with this forecast to rise to over 1% by 2030. There is no cure for IBD and the rates of primary and secondary treatment failure among current therapies is high. Fibrostenotic CD patients in particular have high disease burden; stricture-induced intestinal obstruction is the most common indication for surgery within CD, with up to 70% of fibrostenotic CD patients requiring multiple surgical procedures. There is currently no clinical treatment for intestinal fibrosis pathology in IBDs. Thus, a significant unmet need remains for this population of patients to have therapies which alter their disease course.
We are delighted that based on positive progress in our existing R&D partnership in liver diseases, Takeda has extended the scope of the drug discovery collaboration to now include fibrostenotic IBD. It underlines the value they see in using our ECM platform and the successful co-operation we have established. ECM remodelling plays a key role in driving IBD pathogenesis forward and targeting this process in a specific and fine-tuned manner may contribute to the treatment of IBD by preventing both propagated inflammation, fibrosis and stricturing disease.
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