Vedolizumab for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases: from symptomatic control to mucosal healing

Anti-TNF-α have revolutionized the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, but a significant proportion of patients do not respond or lose response over time after treatment with these drugs. Therefore, the development of drugs that act with a different mechanism of action is strongly needed. Vedolizumab is a selective blocker of intestinal integrin α4β7, which inhibits lymphocyte trafficking and blocks the inflammatory mechanism underlying the...