(Reuters) -Eli Lilly said on Wednesday the U.S. health regulator has approved its drug to treat adults with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease, a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The drug, branded as Omvoh, is already approved in the U.S. to treat moderate-to-severe active ulcerative colitis, another type of IBD. Lilly has been trying to […]
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US FDA approves expanded use of Lilly’s bowel disease drug
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(Reuters) -Eli Lilly said on Wednesday the U.S. health regulator has approved its drug to treat adults with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease, a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The drug, branded as Omvoh, is already approved in the U.S. to treat moderate-to-severe active ulcerative colitis, another type of IBD.
Lilly has been trying to gain a firm footing in the multi-billion dollar market for bowel disease drugs with other players such as AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson also vying for a share.
The U.S. drugmaker struck a $3.2 billion deal last year to buy Morphic Holding in order to gain access to its experimental oral IBD treatment that offers patients a more convenient dosing option compared to other injectable therapies.
Crohn’s disease, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract, affects about 1 million people in the U.S., according to government data.
The approval was based on data from a late-stage study, which showed that Omvoh helped 53% of patients achieve remission after one year of treatment, compared to 36% on placebo, Lilly said.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)