Breaking the Cycle: Researching and Developing Treatments for IBD
Spyre Therapeutics
Engineering for new heights in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease
By: Joshua R Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., Deanna Nguyen, M.D.
Imagine jumping from job to job just to stay afloat because you can’t hold one down due to frequent hospitalizations and clinic visits. And when you can keep a job, you must balance it on top of debilitating diarrhea and abdominal pain. You go to the doctor and begin the journey of diagnosis and cycling through multiple medications that may not provide long-lasting remission, and you find yourself back in the hospital or in the clinic every few months. On top of the physical ramifications, it can also be extremely isolating when friends, family, or coworkers don’t understand the severity of your symptoms or how to provide support. Though there are several approved treatments that can help, unfortunately, many patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) go through this process.
May 19 is World IBD Day — a time for us to raise awareness and show support for the millions of people who currently live with the disease. IBD is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. While IBD is the broader term for this condition, its two main subtypes are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).
CD can impact any part of the GI tract from the mouth to the anus.
Common symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue.
UC is a chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestine, in which the innermost lining of the colon becomes inflamed.
Common symptoms: bloody stools, stool urgency and frequency, fatigue, and abdominal cramping.
If inadequately treated, these symptoms cause interruptions that impact the daily activities of patients with IBD and can be even life-threatening, resulting in the need for hospitalization or surgery.
While there are several approved treatments to address the inflammation observed in IBD, the cause remains unknown, and there is currently no cure. Despite new advances, today’s IBD treatments vary in success. In general, less than half of patients treated with advanced therapies achieve remission, and of those in remission, many will experience new flares over time. Even if patients find a treatment regimen that works, it often requires medications by injections or infusions administered multiple times a year, which can impact patients’ quality of life.
Spyre believes that current therapies are only partially effective because the multiple drivers of inflammation in IBD are not addressed by the mechanism of action of one therapy. We aim to revolutionize IBD care by researching and developing combined therapies with multiple mechanisms of action to target the different sources of inflammation in IBD simultaneously with the goal of improved efficacy. In addition, the investigational therapies being developed by Spyre are designed to be long-acting, which may lead to reduced dosing regimens when compared to currently available marketed therapies. Spyre is also pursuing development of genetic- or biomarker-based patient selection approaches – such as complementary diagnostics – to better identify the right medications for each patient. We believe this approach offers the potential to address some of the significant unmet needs in IBD care. Our team of experienced leaders, including those with scientific and medical background in IBD, is dedicated to researching and developing therapies with improved efficacy, safety, and dosing convenience for IBD patients.
With the increasing global prevalence of IBD, expanded treatment options for patients remain critical. Join us in raising awareness of IBD as we work to improve the experience of treatment for patients all over the world. To learn more about IBD, we encourage you to follow organizations such as the World IBD Day website, The AGA GI Patient Center, and The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation for resources and to stay educated on new research in IBD. Stay up to date with Spyre’s progress in addressing unmet need in the IBD space by following us on LinkedIn or visiting https://spyre.com/pipeline/ to learn more about our pipeline.