Thousands set to benefit from access to treatment for inflammatory bowel disease

Denise Ernst had ulcerative colitis and was treated with a drug that has just become available on the PBS. Photo: Jamila Toderas

Thousands of sufferers with a type of chronic and incurable inflammatory bowel disease could soon have affordable access a life-altering treatment that previously cost up to $20,000 a year.

Infliximab has been made available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and can be used to treat people with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, including children aged six to 17.

Professor Paul Pavli, a gastroenterologist at Canberra Hospital and ANU medical school, said ulcerative colitis could be a debilitating condition for sufferers.

It is estimated more than 30,000 people in Australia have the disease.

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The condition is characterised by chronic inflammation of the lining of the large intestine with symptoms including abdominal pain, frequent bloody stools and high sense of urgency, cramps, weight loss and fatigue.

Professor Pavli said the causes of ulcerative colitis were not known but it was becoming more common.

He said infliximab was a "life-transforming" treatment for people whose condition had not responded to conventional therapy, including other medication, steroids and immuno-suppressive drugs.

"In the past, if the conventional therapies hadn't worked ... then people were looking at removal of the bowel so that would involve either having a bag on the abdomen or a pouch," he said.

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Thousands set to benefit from access to treatment for inflammatory bowel disease