New Research to Help Improve Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment Management

The test is designed to predict inflammatory bowel disease activity and measure the impact of infliximab, a drug used by patients to help prevent inflammation.

23 May 2012 --- Prometheus Laboratories, a company acquired by Nestlé Health Science, has presented new research that confirms the effectiveness of its new diagnostic test designed to improve treatment management for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The test is designed to predict inflammatory bowel disease activity and measure the impact of infliximab, a drug used by patients to help prevent inflammation.

Over time, some of them become less responsive to the drug so it is vital for medical practitioners to be able to diagnose this early on so a different course of treatment can be found.

The data, reported by the company at this year’s Digestive Disease Week event in San Diego, in the United States, provides evidence of the effectiveness of the company’s new monitoring test which will be launched later this year.
Improving patients’ lives

Nestlé Health Science acquired Prometheus Laboratories mid 2011.

Prometheus specialises in diagnostics and in-licensed specialty pharmaceuticals in gastroenterology and oncology and focuses on conditions such as IBD.

“We are proud to continue to lead the way towards personalised medicine,” said Joseph M. Limber, President and Chief Executive Officer for Prometheus Laboratories.

“We are committed to continue to advance our innovative technology platforms and partner with the gastrointestinal community to help bring valuable products to the market with the goal of continuing to improve patients’ lives,” he added.
Effective treatment

The test should help ensure patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disorders can be treated effectively.

These include ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease which typically cause abdominal pain, fever and diarrhoea.

IBD is clinically difficult to diagnose and manage, with many patients requiring long term medical care. Currently the disease has no cure.

Recent statistics from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America estimate that about 1.4 million people in the country suffer from the disease.