UChicago Medicine patient is first patient worldwide to receive drug for ulcerative colitis since FDA approval

A patient at the University of Chicago Medicine was the first in the world to receive the drug guselkumab (Tremfya) since its FDA approval on September 11 to treat moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.

The first dose was administered on September 17 to a 35-year-old man who has suffered from this chronic inflammatory disease for 13 years.

Tremfya has been used for many years to treat plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, but it was also shown to be effective against ulcerative colitis in a global study led by David T. Rubin, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at UChicago Medicine. The study contributed to FDA approval for its use in that disease.

Tremfya is a monoclonal antibody that targets IL-23, the cytokine responsible for many immune diseases, including ulcerative colitis.

“In clinical trials, guselkumab achieved and maintained remission with excellent safety. It's great to offer our patients another effective option,” said Rubin, who is also director of UChicago Medicine's Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The team at the University of Chicago continues to work on new treatment strategies, including combination therapies to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), drugs that can stop the production of various inflammatory pathways and reset the immune system, and new approaches to reducing or de-escalating therapies.

Rubin is a paid consultant to Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Tremfya.

UChicago Medicine's IBD Center, one of the oldest centers of its kind, will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2025.