Patients often have questions regarding research activities here at the IBD Center of Excellence. We have answers to many of the questions about clinical trials available for you to review prior to your visit. For other information, as well as a registry of current trials you may also visit clinicaltrials.gov.
If you are interested in becoming a part of ongoing research and/or clinical trials, ask your IBD Specialist how you can contribute to helping us offer world-class care while seeking a cure for Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis. Please visit the WUSM Clinical Trials Facebook page for additional information. All of our IBD Providers are available to see patients for consultation regarding clinical trials providing novel therapies for Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis patients.
The IBD Center of Excellence has any number of Clinical Trails ongoing throughout the year. We update our active trials list monthly, so that all of our IBD Experts have the most current trials at their fingertips.
Washington University School of Medicine IBD clinicians also are investigators, who work to identify the causes and understand the mechanisms of inflammatory bowel diseases. Our research scientists collaborate with clinicians to solve the complex problems that patients face. As a result patients receive world-class, comprehensive care, and access to cutting edge research and clinical trials. This ensures that research agendas follow emerging trends and changes in IBD, as well as individual investigator’s interests. Our goal is to develop more effective and specific treatments, improve quality of life for IBD patients, and ultimately, to prevent and find a cure for inflammatory bowel diseases.
If you are interested in receiving email notification with a list of currently active trials, be sure to enter your information below.
Why should I join a clinical trial?
I want to find therapy that may work better than my current treatment
- New therapies, that are not yet FDA approved or commercially available, is only accessible by participating in clinical studies.
- Clinical studies offer treatments, medications, and additional options to manage your condition when your disease is not responding to current available therapies, or you have developed tolerance or allergy to conventional medications.
I want to get more monitoring of my condition
- Patient safety is paramount for patients in clinical studies. Participants are followed closely, sometimes more so than in typical clinical care.
- Because of the closer monitoring, patients in clinical studies often fair better than patients who are not. This is one example of how clinical trials help find answers to questions about treatment options.
I want to contribute to the progress of IBD research
- Current estimates of slightly over one million people are effected by IBD in the United States. Clinical trials aid the progress of IBD research, and some patients choose to join clinical studies to support those efforts.
Why do people hesitate to join a clinical study?
Some worry they won’t get the best available therapy.
- Federal guidelines & regulations require that patients enrolled in clinical studies receive the best therapy available, in addition to any new therapies.
Patients worry about getting a placebo
- How do we know if a drug works? The short answer is that it is compared to a placebo. In randomized studies, some patients will receive a placebo in addition to their usual medicines. Most studies allow enrolled patients to access the experimental drug or treatment if their condition doesn’t improve; in other studies the experimental drug or treatment is opened to enrolled patients after the study period ends.
I’m worried about committing to a study, and not being able to get out
- The same federal guidelines & regulations that keep patients safe also allow you to change your mind and get out of a study at any time.
We only know if new therapies work by clinical trials.
If you are not sure if you qualify for a particular study and would like to learn more, contact the clinical research staff in the IBD Center:
IBD Clinical Trials Coordinator
Campus Box 8124
314-747-IBD6 (4236), opt. 7
ibdstudy@wustl.edu