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Around three-quarters of patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) taking conventional therapies (e.g. 5-aminosalicylic acid, steroids and thiopurine) are uncontrolled and half of patients are dissatisfied with treatment, according to research presented at the Congress of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation in Barcelona.

The study, sponsored by MSD, included 253 adults with moderate to severe active UC from 11 European countries, including 24 people from the UK. Patients had suffered from UC for a median of 6.5 years and almost half (49.8 per cent) had extensive involvement.

Overall, 76.5 per cent of patients received aminosalicylates, 63.2 per cent thiopurines and 23.9 per cent corticosteroids. However, 81 per cent of patients were not in remission and 74.4 per cent showed active inflammation on endoscopy.

The fact that 47.8 per cent of patients were not satisfied with current UC therapies suggests that there is “a significant gap between disease control perceived by patients and control measured objectively”.