10 November 2017 - - Deerfield, Illinois-based marketing and sales organization Takeda Pharmaceuticals, USA, Inc. has released GEMINI I post-hoc data evaluating deep remission with Entyvio (vedolizumab) in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC), the company said.
This analysis evaluated four different criteria sets for deep remission in patients at week 52 of treatment with Entyvio. The criteria assessed combinations of endoscopic improvement and symptomatic remission/improvement, that included rectal bleeding and stool frequency, across varying degrees of stringency.
The deep remission rates were then analyzed against Entyvio trough serum concentrations to determine if there was a correlation.
Entyvio (vedolizumab) is a prescription medicine approved for adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease (CD). It is designed to reduce inflammation of the mucosal lining of the bowel by blocking the movement of the white blood cells into the inflamed gut tissue.
Mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1) is preferentially expressed on the endothelial lining of blood vessels in the lymphoid tissue of the bowel. The alpha4beta7 integrin is expressed on a subset of circulating white blood cells.
Vedolizumab specifically binds to the alpha4beta7 integrin and blocks its interaction with MAdCAM-1, therefore inhibiting the white blood cells from entering the inflamed gut tissue, thus decreasing inflammation.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA is the US marketing and sales organization of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.
Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals.
The company has a commercial presence covering around 70 countries, with particular strength in Asia, North America, Europe, and emerging markets including Latin America, Russia-CIS and China. Areas of R and D focus include central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic, gastroenterology, oncology, and vaccines.