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.

Phase 2 results in inflammatory bowel disease hinted the therapy could be more potent than similar medicines from Merck and Roche, each of which were acquired in multibillion-dollar deals.

Sanofi and Teva Pharmaceuticals have reported that the Phase IIb RELIEVE UCCD study of the human IgG1-λ2 monoclonal antibody targeting TL1A, duvakitug, met its primary endpoints in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), which are the most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).