Teva and Sanofi said last year they would collaborate on developing a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hoping it will become a blockbuster drug - or one that generates annual sales of at least $1 billion.

The TL1A drug would serve as a companion to Sanofi and partner Regeneron's multibillion-dollar blockbuster Dupixent (dupilumab), which is approved across several indications, including atopic dermatitis, and is also in clinical testing for UC. Sanofi meanwhile also has a RIPK1 inhibitor, eclitasertib, in phase 2 for UC.

As Merck and Roche continue to march their respective inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) assets through the clinic, Sanofi and Teva are closing the gap with positive data on their own anti-TL1A antib | In the phase 2b trial,

The anti-TL1A antibody allowed significantly more inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients to go into remission than those taking placebo treatment.

Teva reported that the trial met its primary endpoints in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, the most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease. According to the company's announcement the primary endpoint results in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease for high dose represent the highest achieved with any TL1A monoclonal antibody.

Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and French drugmaker Sanofi said a study of a drug to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease showed it had met primary goals. Teva and Sanofi said last year they would collaborate on developing a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD),