Precision Medicine
We need to identify genetic variations or other biological characteristics, that can be used to help match each patient to the best treatment for them.
Give two IBD patients the same medication and you might end up with two very different outcomes. We don’t know why a given drug might work well for one patient and not another, but we’re determined to find out.
We also need to know, at the time of diagnosis, whether someone is at high-risk for severe IBD and disease complications. Such a patient would benefit from starting aggressive treatment right away, whereas another patient might be better off taking a milder medication. Biomarkers (tests of blood, stools, sweat, to name a few examples) are being developed to get us there.
Matching Patients to the Right Medication
Through SPARC IBD (Study of a Prospective Adult Research Cohort with IBD), scientists aim to follow 7,000 adult IBD patients over many years and track their disease activity using biosamples, including blood, stool, and intestinal cells taken via biopsy. The goal: to find new ways to predict who is likely to relapse as well as identify characteristics that would help doctors match each patient to the best treatment.
The data and biosamples from SPARC IBD are stored on IBD Plexus, the Foundation’s large data platform with a linked biobank, for use by SPARC researchers and other researchers worldwide. By making these data and biosamples from SPARC and from other research studies that the Foundation is funding available to researchers, the Foundation is enabling researchers to jumpstart their ability to answer critical research questions. For example, researchers can use the resources on IBD Plexus to identify new therapeutic targets—such as proteins or genes that can be targeted with medication or other therapy—and ultimately improve the quality of life for patients with IBD.
Patients enroll in SPARC IBD through their healthcare provider. Click here to see a list of participating sites, including the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, the University of Pennsylvania, and many others.
