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Lerner Lab Technology Results in New Treatment for
Ulcerative Colitis

A drug made possible by scientific advances in Professor Richard Lerner’s lab at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has been approved for use to treat moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in adults. The drug Humira® (adalimumab), manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, is one of the most widely used biologic therapies on the market.

A chronic disease causing inflammation and ulcers in the inner lining of the large intestine, and one of two common forms of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis affects about 620,000 American, according to the National Institutes of Health. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Humira® on September 28 to control ulcerative colitis in patients who have been unresponsive to immunosuppressant drugs.

Paving the way for Humira® was work in the Lerner laboratory, which pioneered combinatorial antibody library technology (in parallel with the group of Sir Gregory Winter at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology). The combinatorial antibody library technique continues to be a mainstay of drug discovery research.

In addition to ulcerative colitis, Humira® is used for treatment of autoimmune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, plaque psoriasis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. For more information on the recent approval of Humira® for ulcerative colitis, see the FDA’s press release at http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm321650.htm





Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu