A patient at the University of Chicago became the first person to receive a recently FDA-approved treatment for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, according to a Sept. 17 news release by the university.
The drug, guselkumab, marketed under the brand name Tremfya, was approved Sept. 11, according to the release. The first dose was administered Sept. 17 to a 35-year-old man who has suffered from ulcerative colitis for 13 years.
Tremfya has been used in the past to treat plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. UChicago Medicine's David Rubin, MD, led a global study that proved the treatment is also effective for ulcerative colitis. The study was a component of the FDA's approval of the drug, according to the release.