Release Date: April 2009
Expiration Date: April 30, 2010

Jointly sponsored by Dannemiller and Carus Clinical Communications, an Elsevier business
Supported by an educational grant from Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Faculty
Remo Panaccione, MD; Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic; Director, Gastroenterology Training Program; Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Statement of Need
Significant research supports the benefits of biological agents for the treatment of Crohn’s disease; however, the lack of specificity of currently available agents needs to be addressed. Understanding the benefits and limitations of currently available and future biological agents is paramount to selecting the appropriate treatment for patients with Crohn’s disease. Maintaining or increasing efficacy while improving safety and tolerability will be the focus of research and development of new agents for treating Crohn’s disease. Future biological agents for the treatment of Crohn’s disease will likely address these issues and eventually lead to improved outcomes in patients with Crohn’s disease. Healthcare professionals responsible for care of patients with Crohn’s disease must be made aware of the novel pathways being targeted, and the benefits of such approaches, for future treatments for Crohn’s disease.

Intended Audience
Gastroenterologists involved in the care of patients with Crohn’s disease.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this educational activity participants should be able to:

• Cite the pathways targeted by currently available biological agents as well as those under investigation for the treatment of Crohn’s disease.
• Recognize the benefits and limitations of currently available and future biological agents for the treatment of Crohn’s disease
• Differentiate between the specificity of currently available humanized antibodies against α4-integrins and the potential effects on safety and tolerability of these agents in patients with Crohn’s disease

Accreditation Statement:
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Dannemiller is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Dannemiller designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s).^TM Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.

Method of participation
The activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete. The participant should, in order: read the objectives and other introductory CME information, review the reprint and read the accompanying materials, complete the registration form, post-test, and evaluation form. To access the registration form and post-test, click on the prompt on the final slide in the presentation. To receive credit for this activity, follow the instructions provided on the post-test. This credit is valid through April 30, 2010. No credit will be given after this date. There is no fee associated with this CME activity.

In the event you are unable to print the certificate, please e-mail editor@dannemiller.com and a certificate will be mailed within 2 weeks.

Disclosures
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Dannemiller requires that any person who is in a position to control the content of a CME activity must disclose all relevant financial relationships they have with a commercial interest. Accordingly, Dr Remo Panaccione declares the following financial interest or other relationship with the commercial supporters listed below:
Education/Research Support: Abbott Laboratories, Axcan, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Centocor, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Ferring, Proctor and Gamble, Jansen, Schering-Plough, Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Consultant: Astra Zeneca, Abbott Laboratories, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Centocor, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Ferring, Glaxo-Smith Kline, Schering-Plough, Shire, Proctor and Gamble, UCB
Speakers Bureau: Astra Zeneca, Abbott Laboratories, Axcan, Byk Solvay, Centocor, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Jansen, Proctor and Gamble, Prometheus, Schering-Plough, Shire, Proctor and Gamble
Advisory Bureau: Abbott Laboratories, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Ferring, Proctor and Gamble, Schering-Plough, Shire, Proctor and Gamble, UCB

M.E. Shepard, PhD, Medical Writer, has nothing to disclose.

Dannemiller staff and all others involved in the development of this activity have no relationships with commercial interests.

To resolve identified conflicts of interest, the educational content was fully reviewed by a physician member of the Dannemiller Clinical Content Review Committee who has nothing to disclose. The resulting certified activity was found to provide educational content that is current, evidence based and commercially balanced

Off-label statement
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by FDA. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings. Further, participants should appraise the information presented critically and are encouraged to consult appropriate resources for any product or device mentioned in this program.

Disclaimer
The contents and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Dannemiller, Carus Clinical Communications or Millenium Pharmaceuticals. This material is prepared based upon a review of multiple sources of information, but it is not exhaustive of the subject matter. Therefore, healthcare professionals and other individuals should review and consider other publications and materials on the subject matter before relying solely upon the information contained within this educational activity.

For questions regarding the content of this activity and technical assistance, contact Dannemiller, accredited provider for this CME activity, at editor@dannemiller.com.

Dear Colleague,
The recent addition of several new biological agents to the armamentarium of treatments for our patients with Crohn’s disease has created the opportunity to provide improved care, particularly for those with moderate to severe disease. While this is an exciting time for us, challenges with these treatments remain; thus, we continue to search for treatments that offer even greater efficacy, safety, and tolerability. By focusing our attention on agents with increased specificity, we will be one step closer to identifying a safe, efficacious, and well tolerated treatment that hopefully will lead to a reduction in the number of patients requiring surgery. I encourage you to join in the search for such agents simply by enrolling your patients into clinical trials for promising new therapies.
Remo Panaccione, MD