What is Adacolumn®?

Adacolumn® is an apheresis system, i.e. a system to clear blood from substances, molecules or cells. It removes activated leukocytes from the blood without significant loss of other cells or fluids. Cells removed can no longer maintain inflammation processes present in ulcerative colitis.

Adacolumn® is approved (CE certified) and since about 10 years in use for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease). In adults Adacolumn® has already been shown to be safe and efficacious.

The ADAPT trial

The ADAPT trial investigates if these efficacy and safety results can also be confirmed in a paediatric patient collective. The trial is currently ongoing in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Finland, Sweden, and the UK. Main inclusion criteria are

• Age below 18 and a body weight above 30 kg

• Ulcerative colitis (left-sided or pancolitis), moderately active with a PUCAI between 35 and 64

• Pre-treatment with 5-asa or derivatives, mercaptopurines and or steroids; if treatment is ongoing, doses must have been stable for defined times

Pre-treatment with immuno-modulators and/or biologics is an exclusion criterion.
The trial has a basic duration of 3 months for a patient, and a follow-up extension over 1 year for responders.
For more information, please contact Dr. Marita Franz at Otsuka’s Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

EFCCA will be represented at the Digestive Disease Week in Chicago, which enables us to spread information about the aims of EFCCA and about the latest developments. What’s more, it enables us to extend our network of people who care about the interests of people with IBD. From Sunday 31 May until Wednesday 3 June, chairman Marco Greco and secretary Chayim Bell will be happy to meet you. You can find us at stand 962 (South Hall, A2).

In early December the European Disability Forum, of which EFCCA is a member, launched its Manifesto for the Year 2009 European Elections. More than 50 million persons across Europe has one disability or more, including many of those with Crohn's and Colitis too, so the Disability Movement is highlighting also the difficulties of when it comes to voting and talks of the obstacles which still remain. For more about the Manifesto please click here.