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Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Drugs

Asked by Lee AndersonReform UKDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 25 March 2026UIN 120891

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to medication for people with IBD.

Answered by Dr Zubir Ahmed

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations on whether all new medicines and significant licence extensions for existing medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. In the last three years, NICE has recommended five new drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including upadacitinib, risankizumab, mirikizumab, etrasimod, and guselkumab. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

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