Bisphosphonate Drug Holidays Drug holidays are common for patients on bisphosphonate therapy. Often, these breaks in treatment are related to known U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings and drug class adverse effects. Currently, data on fracture risk related to drug holidays are limited. In recent research highlighted at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting ,…
They say the body remembers what the mind wants to forget. For those who have experienced trauma, not only does the body remember, in some cases it works on making things worse. Such is the situation with trauma and lupus, says a new study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology in October. The study, titled, “Association…
A number of autoinflammatory syndromes that result from genetic mutations have been described recently. The vast majority occur in children. However, three periodic fever syndromes are important for rheumatologists who treat adults to know about. The goal of this review is to provide a concise description of each condition, and to help the clinician understand…
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer Inc’s second biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Remicade, the company said on Wednesday. Pfizer’s Ixifi was approved for all eligible indications of Remicade, including the treatment of bowel disease Crohn’s disease and skin disorder plaque psoriasis, the drugmaker said. Biosimilars are medicines deemed…
In a Year in Review session at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Daniel Solomon, MD, MPH, highlighted the latest and most intriguing aspects of clinical research on rheumatic diseases from 2017. His discussion touched on medical therapy, genetics, the effects of bariatric surgery and diet, cancer risk and more…
SAN DIEGO—Should patients with rheumatic diseases switch from a biologic to its biosimilar? At the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting’s Great Debate, held Nov. 5, two rheumatologists argued whether to switch or stay put based on safety, efficacy and potential cost savings. First to the podium to make the case for switching, Jonathan Kay, MD, tweaked…
(Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster psoriasis drug ustekinumab (Stelara) led to a significant reduction in disease activity in patients with systemic lupus compared with a placebo in a midstage clinical trial, according to data released on Nov. 4. Ustekinumab is already approved for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease and had third-quarter sales of $1.12 billion….
FDA Approves Adalimumab-adbm On Aug. 29, the FDA approved Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm), a biosimilar to Humira (adalimumab).1 Cyltezo was approved as a prefilled syringe to treat multiple chronic inflammatory diseases, including moderate to severe active RA, active psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, and moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The treatment has also been approved for moderate…
As questions about biosimilar medications swirl among U.S. rheumatologists, a recently released report sheds some light on the European experience with biosimilars—and may offer some important insights for the U.S. market. The report, Biosimilars in the EU: Information Guide for Healthcare Professionals, was released in late April by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the…
The ACR Early Career Investigators (ECI) Subcommittee has organized two sessions at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego. These sessions are devoted to serving the needs of early career investigators including junior faculty, fellows, graduate students and post-docs. Both sessions provide unique opportunities to optimize the research landscape for early career investigators. Mentoring…