Gilead's pill succeeds in mid-stage bowel disease trial

Oct 19 — Gilead Sciences said on Monday its experimental once-daily ​pill reduced symptoms of a chronic bowel illness in more patients than placebo in ‌a mid-stage trial.

• The drug, emvistegrast, was being tested in adults ⁠with moderate to ​severe ulcerative colitis, a ⁠chronic condition that causes inflammation and ulcers in ‌the digestive ‌tract

• The pill is designed to block the ⁠α4β7 integrin pathway, a ⁠target already validated in inflammatory bowel disease

• After 12 weeks, 66% of patients taking a 200 mg dose of the drug saw their disease symptoms improve, compared to 37% on ‌placebo, meeting the trial's main ​goal

• Also, 31% of patients receiving the treatment achieved clinical remission, compared to 8% of those in the placebo group

• BMO Capital Markets analysts said they view the data as "an incremental positive for Gilead's inflammatory strategy that establishes ​emvistegrast as a credible oral α4β7 option"

• The ‌drug was generally ‌well ⁠tolerated, with overall side-effect rates comparable between the treatment and placebo groups, and no serious side effects were linked to the study medication

• Gilead ‌said it plans ​to initiate a late-stage monotherapy ‌study of the ⁠pill ​in 2027

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Shilpi Majumdar)

Related topics