INTERCEPT moves forward: important progress across research and recruitment
INTERCEPT has moved from planning and preparation into an important phase of implementation. Across the consortium, partners are advancing the scientific, technical and operational work needed to investigate how Crohn’s disease might one day be identified in the preclinical phase and potentially prevented. We would like to thank all INTERCEPT partners and collaborators for their continued commitment and for the considerable work taking place across the project.
PREDICT-CD recruitment and research progress
Recruitment for the PREDICT-CD Study is now under way in all participating countries except France. Study Coordinator Joana Torres and her team at GLSMED Learning Health SA/Hospital da Luz in Portugal are coordinating the day-to-day implementation of the study across the participating sites. In parallel, affiliated partner Gemelli Digital Medicine & Health srl in Italy is developing the app that participants are using as part of the study.
Almost 600 first-degree relatives (FDRs) have now been recruited into PREDICT-CD. Recruitment is progressing according to plan in the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal, while sites in Spain, Sweden and Poland are ramping up their recruitment activities. Preparations to begin recruitment in France are ongoing. Each new participant brings the project closer to its goal of understanding whether blood-based biomarkers and other health information can help identify people at increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease before symptoms appear.
A key bioinformatics meeting was held in June 2026 at partner University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands, hosted by Principal Investigator Professor Rinse Weersma. The meeting focused on how the study data will be analysed and how the risk-estimation algorithm will be developed. These discussions are an important step in ensuring that data generated through the PREDICT-CD Study can be interpreted consistently and used to support the project’s research objectives.
The immediate focus of the project is on supporting successful recruitment and the consistent implementation of the PREDICT-CD Study across all sites. These efforts will provide the foundation for important analyses and scientific outputs in the years ahead.
Expanding outreach and connecting at UEG Week
Alongside the scientific work, INTERCEPT continues to share the project’s aims and progress with wider audiences. Through its website, social media channels and other communication and dissemination activities, the project is helping to raise awareness of the importance of earlier detection and prevention research in Crohn’s disease.
In addition to its established LinkedIn and Facebook accounts, INTERCEPT has recently launched an Instagram channel to further expand its social media presence and reach wider audiences.
INTERCEPT is also looking forward to attending UEG Week in Barcelona, Spain from 17-20 October 2026. This year, the INTERCEPT consortium will lead two events open to all registered UEG participants: a discussion on starting up research projects on Sunday, 18 October, from 16:30-17:00 in the UEG Community Area and a Stakeholder Workshop on predictive testing and prevention strategies in Crohn’s disease on Monday, 19 October, from 10:30-11:40 in Meeting Room 8.34.
We look forward to seeing you at these events and discussing how we can improve prediction and intervention for Crohn’s disease and beyond.
