Laura E. Raffals, MD: Sifting Through All the Drug Choices for IBD

Now more than ever there are many options for treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Whether it is ustekinumab, upadacitinid, mirikizumab, or the many other biologics available, there are options for patients with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

But how do doctors decide which medicine is right for which patient and what happens when that patient doesn’t respond?

While complicated, the many options available could eventually result in something that has proven to be elusive in medicine: a personalized approach for each patient.

In an interview with HCPLive® during the Crohn’s and Colitis Congress 2023 in Denver, Laura E. Raffals, MD, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, explained how important it is for clinicians to be educated on the different treatment options available for their patients.

“We are so fortunate that we have so many incredible therapies that we can use to train our patients, but it can be overwhelming to providers when we should use this therapy or that therapy for their patient,” Raffals said. “Our ultimate goal is to have a personalized approach where we will take a factors, whether it is various biomarkers, biological, genetic factors that help us really pinpoint what the right therapy is for our patient. But we are not really there yet.”