UK patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) can now potentially get access to Takeda UK's Entyvio (vedolizumab) following the drug's launch in the country.

In May, Entyvio became the first and only biologic therapy to be approved in Europe simultaneously for these two inflammatory bowel conditions, specifically in patients who have had an inadequate response with, lost response to, or were intolerant to either conventional therapy or a tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) antagonist.

The drug is a novel alpha-4 beta-7 integrin antagonist which works by blocking a key inflammatory marker on white blood cells, and has shown statistically significant efficacy across a range of endpoints in clinical trials of patients with UC and CD.

While there is yet to be a 'formal' launch for the drug a spokesman for Takeda UK has confirmed that Entyvio is available in the country.

For more details, go to: http://pharmatimes.com/Article/14-07-08/Takeda_s_Entyvio_available_in_UK_for_ulcerative_colitis_and_Crohn_s.aspx