A 53-year-old female presented to the clinic for severe polyarticular joint pain and was found to have a seronegative inflammatory arthritis. Six months before, she had completed 10 months of treatment for stage IV metastatic melanoma with the immune checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and ipilimumab, achieving complete remission of her cancer. She said that throughout her…
Ipilimumab (Yervoy) is a monoclonal antibody directed against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4). It was the first drug to demonstrate a survival benefit in advanced melanoma and was approved by the FDA in 2011.1 By blocking the CTLA-4 receptor, ipilimumab enhances the immune response against tumors via cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation and proliferation.2 However, immunopotentiating…
Sirukumab Promising for RA Sirukumab, an investigational human monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to the interleukin (IL) 6 cytokine, has completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, Phase 3 clinical trial (SIRROUND-T) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).1 During the trial, which took place between July 25, 2012, and Jan. 12, 2016, researchers randomized adult patients…
An established patient is seen in the office for a scheduled visit with the rheumatologist at the start of the new year. What should the front desk staff do for all patients at the beginning of each year? Inform the patient that their co-pay is due prior to receiving treatment, and ask how they would…
(Reuters) – Healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson said on Monday the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation concerning management and advisory services provided to rheumatology and gastroenterology practices that bought two of its drugs. The U.S. healthcare company said its Janssen Biotech Inc. unit received a civil investigative demand from the DOJ…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pfizer’s expensive arthritis drug tofacitinib has been shown to produce a remission in nearly 1 in 5 patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, but long-term remission persists in fewer than half of those cases. In a series of studies published in the May 4 New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reported…
On April 7, 2017, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) published its final report, titled, Targeted Immune Modulators for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Effectiveness & Value.1 The stated objective of the report was to assess the comparative clinical effectiveness of the targeted immune modulators (TIMs) used to treat patients with moderate to severe active rheumatoid…
(Reuters)—Canadian drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said it had priced its recently approved plaque psoriasis treatment at $3,500 per month, ahead of an expected U.S. launch in the second half of 2017. Brodalumab (Siliq) is the lowest priced injectable biologic psoriasis treatment currently on the market, Valeant says. Drugmakers are facing intense criticism from…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Clinical aspects of managing patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in remission were discussed by a panel of experts at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting during the session titled Rheumatoid Arthritis—Clinical Aspects IV: Managing Patients in Remission. Among the issues raised were strategies to taper or discontinue biologic therapies, as well as clinical predictors of…
An 82-year-old female established patient diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in multiple joints returns to the office for her second infliximab infusion. She denies any fevers, cough or concurrent illness. Her joint pain is 7 on a scale of 1–10. She complains of achy pain in the cervical, lumbar and sacral regions of her spine. She…