Reality TV Star, Mollie Pearce, Backs Campaign to Tackle Inequalities in Condition That Impacts Millions of People Globally

Celltrion partners with TV star Mollie Pearce to launch the second installation of the Where’s Crohn’s & Colitis (CC)? campaign for this year’s World IBD Day (19 May 2024).

The campaign focuses on access to IBD care and treatment as the burden of the condition rises globally¹. Widening inequalities and significant variations in access across the globe, and even within countries, is impacting people’s experience of IBD care and ultimately their outcomes².

Through raising awareness of the factors driving these inequalities and potential solutions, the campaign hopes to encourage improved access to a timely diagnosis, high quality care and innovative treatments.

Innovations in treatments, including advances in treatment administration that enable people to access at-home injectable treatment (versus hospital-based treatment), allows people to have an improved quality of life whilst managing their condition³.

The campaign encourages people to look beyond what they would usually see, to make the invisible condition, visible. In doing so, users are taken on a journey across borders to explore inequalities in IBD at a global scale and how these could be overcome.

Reality TV star Mollie Pearce, a contestant on the popular UK show ‘The Traitors’, partners with Celltrion to launch the campaign. Mollie was diagnosed with UC when she was 11 years old and has openly shared her experiences living with the disease as an advocate for the IBD community, breaking down stigma and inspiring others to seek the care that works best for them.

Mollie Pearce, media personality and finalist on ‘The Traitors’, commented: “Living with a condition such as UC comes with so many challenges - from sometimes not being able to leave the house to missing out on social occasions with friends. That’s why I’m so passionate about being an advocate for the IBD community and helping others to break down barriers and do the things they never thought were possible once they were diagnosed.

“The Where’s CC? campaign is really close to my heart. I want to do all I can to ensure everyone is treated as an individual and gets the care they deserve.”

Mr. Kevin Byoung Seo Choi, Executive VP and head of the marketing division at Celltrion, said: “It is simply unacceptable that there are so many barriers in accessing IBD care. From geographic disparities in access to infusion centers to health system limitations and education, there is an urgent need to tackle the root cause of inequalities globally so that all patients can access potentially life-changing therapies.

“We are committed to tackling inequalities and ensuring a sustainable future for all IBD patients. The Where’s CC? campaign is our latest step in making this a reality through raising awareness and advocating for change.”

The first instalment of the Where’s CC? campaign, launched for World IBD Day 2023, focused on age-related inequalities in IBD, and how the challenges that come with the condition can vary at different stages of life.

Visit www.WhereisCC.com to learn more about the Where’s CC? campaign and inequalities in access to care and treatment in IBD, and how these can be overcome to improve IBD outcomes for all.

World IBD Day is an annual awareness campaign led by patient organisations representing over 50 countries on five continents and coordinated by the European Federation of Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA)⁴.

ABOUT INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD)
IBD is an umbrella term used to describe conditions including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Collectively, IBD impacts over 10 million people worldwide with incidence rates rapidly increasing across the world⁵.

IBD is a long-term condition and there may be times when the symptoms are severe, known as a flare-up, and times when there are no or few symptoms, known as remission. Common symptoms of IBD include pain, cramping or swelling in the stomach, episodes of diarrhoea, weight loss and extreme tiredness⁶. IBD can appear for the first time at any age, however, diagnosis most commonly takes place between the ages of 10 and 40⁵.

Treatment for IBD can be transformative for patients’ lives, reducing the impact of the condition on their lives by minimising flare-ups and maintaining remission. In recent years, the increasing availability of new treatments has transformed IBD patient care.

ABOUT ‘THE TRAITORS’
‘The Traitors’ is a British reality TV series involving a group of players who are seemingly focused on a common goal – the ‘faithfuls’ must eliminate all the ‘traitors’ from the group. Mollie Pearce appeared in Series Two of the programme, making it to the final where she cast the deciding vote of the series.

ABOUT CELLTRION
Celltrion is a leading biopharmaceutical company that specializes in research, development and manufacturing of innovative therapeutics that improve people's lives worldwide. The company’s portfolio of anti-TNF therapies spans a number of indications across distinct therapy areas: immunology, hemato-oncology and ophthalmology. We are dedicated to expanding patient access to life-changing biologic therapies while generating healthcare sustainability with meaningful cost savings for patients worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.celltrion.com/en-us.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
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References

¹ The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Promoting equity in inflammatory bowel disease: a global approach to care. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(23)00368-0/abstract#back-bib4 [Accessed: May 2024]

² Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. P018 Inequalities in healthcare access, experience and outcomes in adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A scoping review. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ecco-jcc/article/18/Supplement_1/i269/7586146 [Accessed: May 2024]

³ BMC Proceedings. Intravenous versus subcutaneous delivery of biotherapeutics in IBD: an expert’s and patient’s perspective. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8654488/#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20the%20subcutaneous%20application%20of%20drugs%20include,are%20able%20to%20administer%20their%20treatments%20at%20home. [Accessed: May 2024]

⁴ EFCCA. World IBD Day. Available at: https://worldibdday.org/ [Accessed: May 2024]

⁵ EFCCA. What is IBD? Available at: https://efcca.org/content/what-ibd [Accessed: May 2024]

⁶ NHS. Inflammatory bowel disease. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease/ [Accessed: May 2024]

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Contact information

Holly Barber
hbarber@hanovercomms.com
+44 (0) 7759 301620