Dive Brief:
- The research team is enrolling 10,000 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) for the wide-ranging study.
- Researchers will rely on the 23andMe Personal Genome Service kit for much of the process.
- The companies hope to use knowledge gleaned from this study to supplement current IBD clinical trial programs for tofacitinib and two monoclonal antibodies.
Dive Insight:
IBD affects approximately 1.9 million people in the U.S. and racks up $1.7 billion in healthcare expenses each year. The information that will be collected from this mass genetic inquiry includes participants’ uninterpreted raw genetic data, DNA saliva samples, and responses to online surveys.
"By enhancing our understanding of the underlying biology of the disease we hope to better support our clinical research,” said Jose Carolos Gutierrez-Ramos, head of biotherapeutics R&D at Pfizer.