Recent post-hoc analyses of two Phase 3 clinical trials show that RA patients with high interleukin 6 levels taking sarilumab experienced improved symptoms and less joint damage than those using other treatments…
CHICAGO—Bimekizumab is an investigational interleukin (IL) 17A and IL-17 neutralizing agent being studied to modulate inflammation in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. During the late-breaking abstract session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, researchers reported on the results of a 48-week, Phase 2b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of bimekizumab in patients with active psoriatic…
More than 10 years ago, I wrote a commentary in The Rheumatologist, called “Perils of Pain Meds,” about the over-prescribing of opioid analgesics for common causes of chronic noncancer pain, which was a major contributor to the opioid epidemic.1 Since that time, although there has been a greater than 20% decrease in opioid prescribing, the…
Patients under the care of the U.S. Veterans Affairs who were older, non-white and had more comorbidities were less frequently given biologic initiation therapy to treat their rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a recent study. Researchers sought to identify predictors of greater use of biologic therapies, as well as factors associated with persistent use of…
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. said on Friday that it plans to hike U.S. prices on 41 of its medicines in January, after walking back its previous price increases this summer under pressure from President Donald Trump. The company said in a statement that the increases would be on around 10% of its drugs. Pfizer said…
Recent data showing sustained, long-term safety and efficacy of mavrilimumab for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) confirm and build on prior evidence from phase 2 studies of the potential for this new agent for the treatment of RA. Mavrilimumab is a human monoclonal antibody that blocks a proinflammatory cytokine involved in RA pathogenesis—granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating…