Shield Therapeutics plc noted the recent publication in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases of positive long-term results from a study comparing the effectiveness of ferric maltol 30 mg bid with intravenous (IV) iron (ferric carboxymaltose given according to each centre's standard practice) over 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was haemoglobin responder rate (=2 g/dL increase or normalization) at week 12, with a 20% noninferiority limit in the intent-to-treat and per protocol populations. The open label Phase 3B study included adults with non-severe active IBD and iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) and who also had serum ferritin levels below 30 µg/L or ferritin levels below 100 µg/L and transferrin saturation below 20%. The report of this first comparative trial, reflecting real-world conditions in patients with quiescent or mild to moderate IBD and mild to severe IDA, concluded that both oral ferric maltol and standard regimens of IV ferric carboxymaltose achieved clinically meaningful increases in Hb over 12 weeks of treatment, although ferric maltol did not meet the prespecified noninferiority margin vs IV iron. Over the longer term, ferric maltol showed comparable efficacy in maintaining Hb improvements and increasing ferritin up to week 52, consistent with IV iron. The safety profile of each treatment was consistent with previous studies.