STAT+: New treatment approach could give IBD patients hope, and be a bonanza for drugmakers

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Source: STAT News

Original: https://www.statnews.com/2026/02/24/ibd-combination-therapy-race-abbvie-lilly-pf...

Published: Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:30:00 +0000

A new approach to treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis could bring hope for patients and benefits for drugmakers.[4] These chronic autoimmune diseases cause symptoms such as ulcers, abdominal cramps, fatigue, and diarrhea due to chronic inflammation in the digestive tract.[4] Existing drugs target different parts of the overactive immune system, but matching patients with treatments is more of an art than a science.[4] Only about 30% of IBD patients find relief from current medications.[4] Companies such as AbbVie, Lilly, Pfizer, Merck and Johnson & Johnson are trying to transform treatment by developing combination therapies and identifying predictive biomarkers.[4] These combinations should achieve better results than monotherapy.[2][4]