The activities of the project fully correspond to the expected impact. IBD has been increasing in the western world over the last decade, with an average prevalence of around 1%. The frequency is highest in North America, Northern Europe and the United Kingdom. In these areas, the incidence is approximately 15-25 cases per 100,000 citizens/year for UC and the 8-12 cases per 100,000 for CD. The clinical manifestations of IBD often start during adolescence, with peak onset ranging between 20-40 years of age.
Standard CD/UC treatments are based on an escalating pharmaceutical approach consisting of biologics and steroids. Occasionally, none-specific leukapheresis (extraction of white blood cells from blood) procedures are implemented in-spite of lacking clinically significant effects. Only 50-60% of patients achieve long-term remission using standard drug therapies, which besides having unsatisfactory efficacies are unsuitable for long-term use as they carry risks of causing severe (even debilitating) adverse effects. When drug therapies fail, patients may be forced to undergo surgical removal of the entire colon and rectum (proctocolectomy). The Quality of Life (QoL) of patients is hence severely negatively affected both before, during and sometimes even after treatment (e.g. surgery).
TLA’s has created the TLA GutTM column – the fist Targeted Leukapheresis column, and hitherto only medical device, with a proven clinical efficacy in selectively removing disease-causing cells in IBD from a patient’s circulation.
