Abstract
Vedolizumab is a monoclonal IgG1 anti integrine antibody, which a few months ago was approved in the European Union for clinical practice use in the therapy of idiopathic bowel diseases. It is expected that this year vedolizumab will be available on the market in the Czech Republic.
The clinical research called GEMINI II-III proved that vedolizumab is a very effective drug in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease. Significant advantages of vedolizumab therapy include high efficacy in patients failing on anti-TNFα therapy, sustained response with increasing effect over time, minimal drug immunogenicity and high safety drug profile, which is caused by high selectivity for gastrointestinal tract.
There are some disadvantages or uncertainties, which include a slow anti-inflammatory therapeutic response, restricted effect on extraintestinal manifestations and limited potential for healing of perianal Crohn's disease.