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Drug Updates

Subcategories:AnalgesicsBiologics/DMARDs

NSAIDs Effective for Early Axial Spondyloarthritis

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective, but underused, in patients with early axial spondyloarthritis, researchers from France report. NSAIDs are the cornerstone of treatment of axial spondyloarthritis, but there is often a trade-off between prescribing doses high enough to decrease pain and other symptoms vs. keeping the doses low enough to decrease…

Adalimumab Drives Regulatory T Cell Expansion by Binding to Membrane TNF

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antibody adalimumab drives regulatory T cell (Treg) expansion in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by binding to membrane TNF, researchers from the UK report. “These results show that adalimumab enhances the anti-inflammatory actions of TNF to increase regulatory T cell activity,” Dr. Michael R. Ehrenstein from University College London,…

Long-Term Therapy with Lilly Drug Found to Help Plaque Psoriasis

Gene Emery  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Aggregated results from three studies of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis show that Eli Lilly’s injectable drug ixekizumab can completely resolve the plaques in about one third of cases after 12 weeks of treatment. And with continued therapy every four weeks, at least half maintained or attained complete resolution of…

FDA Panel Backs Teva’s Abuse-Resistant Opioid Painkiller

Natalie Grover & Toni Clarke  |  

(Reuters)—A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel recommended approving Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd’s long-acting opioid painkiller, Vantrela ER, saying data showed it reduces pain and has some abuse-resistant properties. The drug is designed for use every 12 hours for the management of pain severe enough to require around-the-clock treatment in patients who have…

Immunotherapy Largely Untested in Patients with Autoimmune Disease

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—The safety and effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy is largely unknown in patients with autoimmune diseases, researchers say—and that might account for up to a quarter of individuals with lung cancer. Patients with autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis or psoriasis, have been mostly excluded from clinical trials testing immunotherapies over fears that…

Sun Pharma Gets U.S. Subpoena over Generic Drugs Pricing

Reuters Staff  |  

MUMBAI (Reuters)—The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has subpoenaed India’s largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. seeking information about the pricing and marketing of the generic drugs it sells in the U.S., the company said on Saturday. The DOJ’s antitrust division has also asked Sun Pharma’s U.S. unit for documents related to employee and corporate records…

Samsung Bioepis Receives Final European Approval for Its Remicade Copy

Reuters Staff  |  

SEOUL (Reuters)—South Korea’s Samsung Bioepis said on Monday its biosimilar of Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade (infliximab) has received final approval from European regulators, paving the way for its second product launch in Europe. Samsung Bioepis, an unlisted arm of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, also said last week the biosimilar…

Roche & Novartis Face Off in Biosimilar Drug Battle

John Miller  |  

ZURICH (Reuters)—Switzerland’s biggest drugmakers are clashing over cheaper copies of pricey biotech drugs—one reason why Novartis is considering selling its $14 billion stake in cross-town rival Roche. With a copycat of Roche’s blood cancer drug Rituxan (rituximab) pending European approval, Novartis aims to muscle in on a share of sales that last year hit 7…