Sunday, January 10, 2010

Actemra

APL just forwarded me an interesting news story about a new drug development on the RA front, which is always good news! The new drug is called Actemra and has just been approved by the FDA.

Though it is a biologic, like Remicade and Enbral (and Humira), it is the first arthritis treatment to operate by blocking the activity of a protein called interleukin-6 (rather than TNF).

So there is still hope out there for people having trouble with current treatment options! (Though perhaps don't look at the price tag, because that part isn't very hopeful.)

Read the whole story!

1 comment:

J said...

Looking at the FDA paperwork (NERD), this looks very promising It's recommended for moderate/severe patients, and these px always have a harder time finding good txt, regardless of the illness in question. It's the 60 minute infusion (lame), but a once a month dosage. The approval isn't available on the FDA website just yet, but it will be interesting to see how this pans out.