Johnson and Johnson touts Remicade study for ulcerative colitis

Johnson and Johnson has released new data concerning Remicade, the anti-inflammatory drug, in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

The company says that “significantly” more patients using Remicade achieved clinical remission using Remicade than the placebo. Although Remicade was discovered by Johnson and Johnson company Centocor, it is produced by Schering-Plough in Europe. In one trial, patients using Remicade achieved a clinical response of 65 per cent for the five mg/kg dosage and 69 per cent for the 10 mg/kg dosage, compared to 29 per cent using the placebo.

In a presentation to Digestive Disease Week, Johnson and Johnson also said that UC patients in remission had a better chance of being employed, while of the ten patients on disability benefit at the start of the study, eight were no longer on disability benefits after achieving a year of remission using Remicade.

Dr William Sandborn, professor of medicine at the Mayo College of Medicine, stated: “It is important to examine the potentially significant impact of UC on patients’ employment and the overall cost and burden of their disease.”

“Clinical remission is a critical therapeutic goal for UC patients, both in terms of overall health as well as their ability to maintain productive lives,” he added.

The UK’s National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease says that there are between 60,000 and 120,000 people in the UK with UC and that between 6,000 and 12,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. It affects men and women equally and is most commonly diagnosed between 15 and 20 years of age.

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