BIOlogical therapy CYCLEs towards tailored, needs-driven, safer and cost-effective management of Crohn’s disease

ended

"The BIOCYCLE Project proposes to test and critically assess the benefits and risks of an innovative regimen for improving the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD), a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease affecting the gastro-intestinal tract of an increasing number of patients. Currently, the combination of anti-TNFα monoclonal antibodies and immunosuppressants used without interruption is the gold standard for treating CD. However, long treatments are needed which raise safety concerns and costs. For maintaining the same level of efficacy while reducing risks and costs, the idea of BIOCYCLE is to use a regimen based on ""Treatment Cycles"" characterized by alternating periods where both drugs are administrated and periods where only either anti-TNFα or immunosuppressant is used. The central part of the Project will be a large-scale controlled multi-centric clinical study including 300 patients in EU and USA to test the feasibility of shifting from drugs combination used without interruption (control) to Treatment Cycles (experimental arms). Primary and secondary objectives of the clinical study have already been validated for generating the best qualitative and quantitative data on clinical outcomes, predictors of disease evolution and costs. In parallel, the Project will calculate costs-of-illness associated with the different regimens and will perform surveys among patients, caregivers and healthcare systems representatives to assess their readiness to include/support Treatment Cycles in the clinical practice. This will be the basis of a critical appraisal of Treatment Cycles and guidelines for helping caregivers to decide which treatment regimen best fits the specific needs of their patient. If proven, the benefits of Treatment Cycles for treating CD will be discussed with key-opinion leaders involved in the treatment of other immune-mediated inflammatory chronic diseases to support the evolution of disease-driven treatments towards needs-driven treatments."