All News
Biosimilars Projected to Yield $54 Billion in Savings
A primary projected advantage to biosimilar drugs development has been cost savings. A new study from the RAND Corporation suggests biosimilars could cut health care spending in the United States by $54 billion over the next decade. This number is nearly 20 percent greater than a similar study conducted three years ago by the same researchers.
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FDA Approves Simponi Aria for Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis
Janssen Biotech, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved SIMPONI ARIA® (golimumab) the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or active ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
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13 October 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses a novel antiviral drug or the use of stem cell therapy for scleroderma, rituximab in HSP, when to withdraw NSAIDS in RA, and congrats to PAs and NPs!
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BSR Guidelines on Lupus Management
In the UK, NICE has accredited the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) to develop a guidance document on the management of systemic lupus erythematosus in adults. The last published guidelines for lupus were published in 2008 by EULAR and in 2012 by the ACR.
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2016 EULAR Guidelines on RA Management
The management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved significantly with time. Nevertheless, there are still some uncertainties - such as when, what and which biologic or novel therapy should be used.
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The RheumNow Week in Review - 6 October 2017
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. In this week's report, Dr. Jack Cush discusses when to hold the biologic, lymphoma risk with tofacitinib, early clues to the diagnosis of RA, biologic use in pregnancy, what's killing psoriasis patients and the 2016 top 5, best selling drugs in rheumatology.
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Patterns of Biologic Use During Autoimmune Pregnancy
While it is highly desirable to avoid medications during conception and pregnancy, statistics show that >90% of women take at least one drug during pregnancy and nearly half will take 3 or more medications during pregnancy.
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Amgen-Abbvie Settle Humira Biosimilar Patent Dispute
Amgen's biosimilar version of adalimumab (Humira) was FDA-approved in September 2016 and given the trade name Amjevita (generic: adalimumab-atto). This new TNF inhibitor biosimilar has not yet been to market because of legal wranglings over patent issues by Abbvie's Humira.
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29 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses regulatory actions by NICE and FDA, higher death rates in RA and psoriasis, increased risk of RA with Asthma, rising numbers for OA, RA, and STDs.
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No Cancer Risk With Biologic Use
A polulation-based study from Sweden has shown that treatment with tocilizumab, abatacept, rituximab, or tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitors does not affect the risk of malignant neoplasms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Specifically, use of a first or second TNFi or biologic DMARDs (bDMARD) does confer a different cancer risk when compared to conventional DMARDS in biologic–naive RA patients.
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FDA Panel Backs New Zoster Subunit Vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously in support of the efficacy, safety and approval of its herpes zoster subunit (HZ/su) vaccine (called Shingrix) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults ages 50 and over.
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Sirukumab Turned Down by FDA
On Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that will not approve Johnson & Johnson’s rheumatoid arthritis drug sirukumab, stating further data and study would be needed to establish its safety.
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22 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses survey results on membranous nephritis and patient perceptions of steroids, nonadherence, celebrity arthritis and IgG4 treatment.
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Rituximab Efficacy in IgG4 Related Disease
PLOS reports greater than 90% efficacy when rituximab (RTX) is used to treat patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD).
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15 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review
The RheumNow Week in Review discusses the past week's news, journal articles and highlights from RheumNow.com. This week's report discusses metabolic syndrome in lupus, bisphosphonate holidays, vasculitis and vascular inflammation, vaccination, and the repeated wonders of Vitamin D.
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New Zoster Vaccine Recommended by FDA Panel
Reuters reports that the FDA advisory panel has voted 11-0 in favor of the safety and efficacy and ultimate approval of GlaxoSmithKline’s Shingrix shingles vaccine for use in adults aged 50 and over.
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Jak Inhibition May Ameliorate Pruritus
Interleukin-4 has been shown to activate sensory neurons involved in pruritus, and that inhibition of IL-4 with Jak inhibition significantly alleviates itching.
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New Recommendations on Biosimilar Use
The introduction of a growing number of biosimilars into the market poses a substantial change in cost of care for patients with inflammatory rheumatologic disorders.
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Do Rheumatologists Use ACR/EULAR Guidance on Rheumatoid Arthritis? “Live Vote” Results
The June 2017 RheumNow “Live Vote” surveyed US and non-US rheumatologists and patients about how they diagnose and treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and whether they rely on newer diagnostic criteria and management guidelines propagated by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
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1 September 2017: The RheumNow Week in Review
This week's report includes new data on IL-1 inhibition and protection from CV events and lung cancer, baricitinib given a reprieve, and features on infections: HBV, shingles and mortality of septic arthritis.
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