What the trial was testing
The ELEVATE UC 52 enrolled 787 patients with ulcerative colitis. The study was sponsored by Pfizer and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
27% reached clinical remission at one year — vs. 7% on placebo.
The Lancet · 2023 · NCT03996369
These findings — that of patients in clinical remission at 52 weeks on etrasimod vs. placebo — were published in the The Lancet and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 787 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with ulcerative colitis, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Etrasimod (Velsipity) is FDA-approved for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adults and available now. It is a once-daily pill — no injections or infusions. Heart-rhythm checks and a vaccination check are needed before starting. Ask your gastroenterologist whether it fits your treatment history.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open ulcerative colitis trials
Efficacy and Safety of Vedolizumab Combined With Upadacitinib in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis
It's of great importance to effectively induce and maintain disease remission in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC). Vedolizumab (VDZ) is known for its high safety profile and confirmed therapeutic efficacy in UC treatment. However, according to the experience in clinical practice, the effect onset speed of vedolizumab is relatively slow. Upadacitinib (UPA), however, works quickly, which complements the defect of slow onset of VDZ induction. However, the safety of UPA used in situations such as infection and tumors is inferior to that of VDZ, and long-term use requires testing for the risk of adverse events such as deep vein thrombosis. Therefore, if the advantages of long-term maintenance therapy safety of VDZ and rapid induced remission of UPA are fully utilized, the combination of VDZ and UPA induction for 8 weeks, followed by the use of single drug VDZ in maintenance therapy, can maximize the clinical benefits of UC patients. Due to the lack of high-level clinical research data at home and abroad, we plan to conduct a multicenter prospective randomized controlled clinical study to provide the evidence-based basis for the efficacy analysis of the sequential treatment of moderate to severe UC patients with VDZ and UPA.
Impact of Prebiotics in Ulcerative Colitis
The cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is currently unknown, although partly attributed to interactions among genetic risk polymorphisms, environmental factors, gut microbiome, and host immunity. Diet, particularly those with plant-based products, have been shown in prior research to improve gut microbial composition, which has been linked to different IBD-related outcomes. This study is interested in evaluating the impact of prebiotics on gut microbiome composition and gut health in patients with IBD. Dietary composition will be assessed at baseline and over the course of 16 weeks. Participants will be randomized to either consume an 8-week course of prebiotic supplementation beginning at week 0 or week 8. Stool samples will be collected at weeks 0 and 8. The stool will be analyzed for cross-sectional and longitudinal fecal microbial changes associated with different prebiotic and diet consumption patterns in the context of heterogeneous disease characteristics.