Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease care has changed radically over the last two decades with biological treatment. However, treatment with current biological agents has some major drawbacks: inadequate efficacy, infection-related complications, potential risk of malignancy, need for parenteral administration, and increased treatment-related costs.
New small molecule drugs (SMD) can address problems associated with currently available biological agents. Their advantage is oral administration, the absence of antigenic potential (minimal immunogenicity) and a simpler and less costly production process.
Currently, other clinical trials with several new SMD and other oral agents are underway as therapeutic options for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients.