Jeddah: Takeda, the R&D-driven global biopharmaceutical company, and the Saudi Gastroenterology Association (SGA), have signed a new partnership agreement with the aim to advance inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the annual SGA congress held in Jeddah, will see the two parties work together to raise IBD awareness and advance knowledge and capabilities across Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector.

It is estimated that more than 10 million people worldwide live with IBD.[1] Whether Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, the incidence rate has been rapidly increasing over recent years in Saudi Arabia.[2] A life-long and often debilitating condition, both physically and mentally, IBD represents a significant burden on society, both through healthcare and loss of workplace productivity.[3] Among the most common symptoms experienced by patients are abdominal pain, irregular bowel movements and weight loss3. However, symptoms are often unpredictable, making disease management challenging and adding to the disease burden.

Through this latest partnership, Takeda and SGA will pool their collective resources, expertise, and knowledge to enhance IBD treatment by providing education, training, and knowledge-sharing platforms so that healthcare practitioners and facilities are better equipped to support patient needs. Core areas of focus will be identifying how existing healthcare resources can be better optimized for IBD treatment, establishing modern diagnosis methods, supporting education, and expanding patients’ access to treatment.

Prof. Majid AlMadi, Chairman of SGA commented, “With the growing popularity of fast-food and high-stress levels, the incidence rate of IBD in Saudi is rising across all age groups. A heavy burden not only on patients but society in general, IBD imposes significant costs to our healthcare sector. As Saudi Arabia undertakes one of the largest transformation efforts of its health sector to deliver a system that ensures access, quality, and value, we are working to ensure IBD care remains at the top of the agenda. Together with Takeda, we will support efforts to improve understanding of IBD symptoms and enhance diagnosis and treatment plans so that patients can better manage their symptoms and lead a normal life.”

Khaled Sary, Country Head, KSA at Takeda, said, “At Takeda, we believe that no life-limiting gastrointestinal disease should remain overlooked or untreated. Besides ongoing efforts to develop cutting-edge treatments for patients across our gastroenterology portfolio, we believe in the vital importance of partnerships in positively impacting patients’ lives. That’s why we are announcing a new chapter in our relations with SGA to advance IBD patient care across Saudi Arabia. Continuing a legacy of six years of collaboration, our latest agreement with SGA will see us provide critical resources, knowledge, and tools to enhance awareness, diagnosis and IBD treatment protocols so that patients are fully supported on their journey to better health.”

Working together since 2017 across several projects and campaigns, Takeda and SGA previously launched a digital gastroenterology portal for healthcare practitioners, developed an IBD program for nurses further to patient educational videos, hosted an IBD Masterclass Congress, and launched MyInteract, a platform for Vedolizumab data.  Takeda, among other partners, provided support to SGA to develop national IBD diagnosis and management guidelines.

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About Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to bringing Better Health and a Brighter Future to patients by translating science into highly innovative medicines. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Diseases, Neuroscience, and Gastroenterology (GI). We also make targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. We are focusing on developing highly innovative medicines that contribute to making a difference in people’s lives by advancing the frontier of new treatment options and leveraging our enhanced collaborative R&D engine and capabilities to create a robust, modality-diverse pipeline. Our employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients and to working with our partners in health care in approximately 80 countries. For more information, visit https://www.takeda.com.

For more information, please contact
Anand George
E: anandgeorge.zachariah@fleishmaneurope.com