"FDA Oks Clinical Trial To Test Bacteriophage‐Based Treatment For Crohn’s" — Carolina Henriques
The FDA recently cleared a Phase 1/2a clinical trial to study a set of bacteriophages to treat inflammatory bowel disease, specifically Crohn’s disease. Researchers developed a new therapy based on bacteriophages that specifically targets the various Escherichia coli bacteria strains that have been found in patients with Crohn’s disease. The clinical trial, which will be conducted at Mount Sinai Hospital, will test the feasibility and effectiveness of the therapy in human patients. Jean‐Frederic Colombel, MD, professor of medicine and gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and director of the Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD clinical center at Mount Sinai, the principal investigator of this clinical trial said, “Escherichia coli have been implicated in the pathogenesis development of Crohn’s disease. 4 Bacteriophages may offer a much‐needed approach for specifically targeting AIEC in the human gastrointestinal tract, reducing the risk of progression of Crohn’s disease. If the approach shows efficacy in the planned clinical trials in our hospital, it will enhance and expedite product development and could ultimately benefit hundreds of thousands of people suffering from Crohn’s disease.”
- Jean‐Frédéric Colombel, MD, Professor, Medicine, Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center at Mount Sinai