The use of biosimilar treatments is increasing, according to surveys conducted in 2018 and 2020 of rheumatologists from eight countries. In the two-year period, Japan had the largest increase in biosimilar prescriptions, with only 6% of surveyed rheumatologists reporting they prefer prescribing originator biologic agents.
(Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. said on June 16 its oral rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug Xeljanz (tofacitinib) reduced death or respiratory failure in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia in Brazil, meeting the study’s main goal. Results of the study, which tested the drug in 289 hospitalized adult patients with the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, were published…
(Reuters Health)—Patients who receive biologic infusions at home may have a higher risk of adverse events than those who receive the infusions at a health care facility, a new study suggests.1 Researchers examined administrative claims data on 57,220 adults who received a total of 752,150 biologic infusions for immune-mediated disease between 2007 and 2017. The…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Voclosporin (Lupkynis) in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and low-dose corticosteroids improves renal response rates compared with use of these agents alone in patients with in lupus nephritis, according to a company-funded study. “Lupus nephritis can be a devastating condition if not diagnosed and managed early. These data establish voclosporin as an…
Fear of injection decreased when patients with RA switched from self-administering a treatment biosimilar to etanercept in a prefilled syringe to an injector pen, according to a small observational study.
As the U.S. and other patents for branded denosumab products get closer to expiring, drug manufacturers are initiating clinical trials for more affordable, biosimilar versions of the treatment.
Pegloticase is safe and effective to treat patients with refractory gout who are undergoing dialysis, according to recently presented research.
More than 7 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine have been administered in the U.S.1 On Apr. 23, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommended lifting the recommended pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine use following a thorough safety review. 2…
A phase 3 trial described in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) highlights the potential of a C5a receptor inhibitor, avacopan, for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis.1 Avacopan may potentially offer a steroid-sparing option for the treatment of this serious disease. Current Treatment of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Morbidity and mortality from ANCA-associated vasculitis have…
FDA News Release—On April 16, saying that alternative monoclonal antibody therapies authorized to treat patients with COVID-19 remain available, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked the emergency use authorization (EUA) that allowed for the investigational monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab, when administered alone, to be used for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and…