Precision medicine for inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, primarily refers to the chronic intestinal diseases Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. RISE leads the Vinnova-funded project "Precision Medicine in Inflammatory Bowel Disease", which brings together experts in medicine, molecular biology, genetics, AI, as well as clinical and translational research. The idea of ​​precision medicine is to be able to tailor prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of the patient based on the individual's unique conditions, such as genetic profile, gene expression patterns and the composition of the bacterial flora in the gut. By combining advanced analytical technology, AI and the new treatment methods introduced in recent years, the quality of life for people with IBD can be improved.

The project brings together many actors who work with IBD, including two pharmaceutical companies, which provides good conditions for the innovation work to produce results. By studying the treatment effect of the 20 or so different drugs available today and by combining this with various business solutions, an improved treatment for people with IBD can be developed and each patient can have their treatment tailored. 

One of the project's goals is to create a sustainable innovation environment based on the Community of Practice that has been created during the project's journey. The innovation environment will invite and open up to more actors in addition to the current project partners. How this will happen will be designed during the course of the project.

The project includes prominent researchers in gastroenterology from Lund University and Örebro University as well as practicing doctors with extensive experience in clinical trials and healthcare from Ersta Hospital, Region Skåne and Region Östergötland, among others. The parties in the project are RISE, Innovation Skåne, Linköping University Hospital, Skåne University Hospital, First Hospital, Lund University, Örebro University, Mavatar, Pfizer and Takeda.