The protocol per the manufacturer is up to 8 weeks, at 9mg daily, to achieve remission. Presumably, if you haven't achieved remission by then, it's time to move on.
And then, assuming remission is achieved, take Entocort for another 12 weeks at 6 mg daily, which significantly extends the chances of longer term remission - this is why Entocort IS approved by the FDA as a maintenance med at 6 mg for three months.
However, my daughter was on Entocort for years - 9 mg for eight weeks, then two mg daily for another 12 weeks, then one pill a day with no apparent side effects. When she tried to go off Entocort the first time, she landed in the hospital. We were very thankful for Entocort because combined with diet, she seemed to have her disease in check. But was the disease really brought to a dead stop (my personal definition of remission)? No. The colonoscopy confirmed that, despite her lack of symptoms, Crohn's was still festering - which meant the 3 mg of Entocort might have been helping but was not enough to finish the job.
I've seen no evidence that colonoscopies have ever confirmed "remissions" induced by Entocort. Without a colonoscopy, it is hard to tell whether a patient is truly in remission. Especially one like my daughter. With all the clinical trials that have been done with Entocort, am finding it downright suspicious that colonoscopies were never done to confirm "remissions."