Clinical development of new drugs for inflammatory bowel disease.

Following the success of anti-TNF antibody reagents, the development of new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease is mainly based on molecular targeted drugs. Among them, the effectiveness of therapeutic agents targeting lymphocyte migration and proinflammatory cytokines has been successful. The anti-a4β7 integrin antibody, vedolizumab, has already been used in the treatment of both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in Europe and the United States. The anti-interleukin 12/23 p40 subunit, ustekinumab, was recently approved for use in the treatment of Crohn's disease in the United States. Other than those drugs, various molecular targeted drugs are currently under development. Despite the emergence of these new therapeutic agents, it is most important to appropriately use basic therapeutic drugs in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.