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The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has approved the use of two new treatments for people with severe Crohn’s disease.
The watchdog has recommended that infliximab and adalimumab be used in cases where patients have not responded to, or are intolerant of, therapies commonly used to treat the condition.
Infliximab should be prescribed for adults with active, fistulising Crohn’s disease, and for children and young people aged 6-17 years old with severe, active Crohn’s disease, NICE officials added.
“We are pleased to recommend these treatments for this debilitating, incurable condition,” a spokeswoman said.
“Our review of the evidence indicates that infliximab and adalimumab are clinically and cost effective options for some people with the most severe forms of Crohn’s disease, and for those that standard treatments have failed, or are not an option.”
Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the gut. It causes parts of the gastrointestinal tract to become inflamed, causing diarrhoea, pain in the abdomen, weight loss and tiredness.
Around 60,000 people in the UK suffer from the disease, 5% of whom have the condition in its most severe form.
Copyright Press Association 2010
NICE
