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Are Guidelines Worth the Cost?
A thoughtful perspective on the purpose, focus and cost of guideline efforts in rheumatology has been published in the journal Rheumatology.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers at Odds with Specialty Pharmacies
Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have reported that the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) of private prescription drug benefits have cut off at least eight pharmacies that work closely with drugmakers, intensifying scrutiny of a system that helps inflate drug prices.
Read ArticleBiology of Bone Remodeling in Psoriatic Disease
Paine and Ritchlin have reviewed the evidence that new bone formation is centered around enthesial sites and that such findings are evident in psoriatic arthritis as well as psoriasis patients without arthritis.
Read ArticleIs Baricitinib Really Better Than Adalimumab in RA: Trial Results Reviewed
Dr. Peter Taylor and colleagues presented their results of the 52-week BEAM trial wherein baricitinib (a JAK 1, 2 inhibitor) was compared to adalimumab in both clinical and radiographic outcomes. This was the most viewed abstract online at the ACR website.
Read ArticleCryoglobulinemic Vasculitis Reviewed
Cacoub et al review the common entity cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CryoVas) in the current issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
This small-vessel vasculitis involves the skin, joints, and potentially other organs, including the peripheral nervous system or the kidneys.
Read ArticleAnifrolumab Improves Lupus Outcomes
Furie and coworkers presented the results of a 52-week phase II trial of anifrolumab (ANIFR), a type I interfernon (IFN) receptor antagonist in patients with lupus (SLE).
Read ArticleImproving Cardiovascular Trends in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Myasoedova and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic have reported their new data that demonstrates improving cardiovascular (CV) mortality rates in current RA patients treated with modern drugs.
Read Article2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally!
ACR 2015 RA treatment guidelines were published yesterday, nearly a year after they were preliminarily presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston. After a year of review and revision these have been posted.
Read ArticleBiosimilars and the FDA
Biosimilars are in the news and will be prominently on parade at next week's ACR meeting in San Francisco. Biosimilars are similar to, but not the same as, innovator biologics.
Read ArticleEconomic Burden of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis in the USA
To assess the prevalence and magnitude of healthcare costs associated with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) in the USA, researchers analyzed adminstrative data from Truven Health MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases.
Read ArticleRepeat Skin Cancer Risk with Methotrexate and Biologics
Using Medicare claims data, a retrospective cohort study analyzed the risk of a second non-melanomatous skin cancer (NMSC) in 9460 individuals (6841 with RA and 2788 with IBD).
Read ArticleHigh Level Skin Responses Seen with Inhibitor of IL-23p19 in Psoriasis
Rheumatology News reports the results of a novel trial presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology meeting in Copenhagen.
Read ArticleFDA Panel Votes 10-4 to Approve Lesinurad for the Treatment of Hyperuricemia/Gout
Despite concerns over safety, the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee voted favorably to approve lesinurad (LES) at a meeting held Friday, October 23, 2015. Overall, panel members felt the potential benefits of LES outweighed the safety concerns reviewed by the FDA presenters.
Read ArticleFDA Holds Off on Xeljanz Approval for Psoriasis
The FDA has denied Pfizer's application seeking an indication for Xeljanz in patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.
Read ArticleCircadian Efficacy with Cathepsin K Inhibitor ONO-5334
Osteoporosis is associated with significant morbidity, and hip fractures as sequelae confer a 1-year mortality risk of 8.4–36%.
Read ArticleBrodalumab vs. Ustekinumab: Head-to-Head Studies of Psoriasis
AMAGINE-2 and AMAGINE-3 are in two phase 3 studies that compare multiple doses of brodalumab (anti-IL-17) and ustekinumab (anti-12/23) in adults with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.
Read ArticleUstekinumab Effective in Adolescents with Psoriasis
Biologic and new drug development seldom targets children and adolescents. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in adolescents age 12 to 17 years with moderate-to-severe psoriasis,
Read ArticleSecukinumab Wins in Psoriatic Arthritis
Mease and colleagues have published their results of a phase 3 trial of secukinumab (anti-IL-17A Mab) in 606 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Read ArticleACR/SPARTAN 2015 Recommendations for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis
The ACR and SPARTAN (Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network) has worked together to study 57 specific treatment questions regarding AS and SpA. The following guidelines have recently been published after conducting systematic literature reviews.
Read ArticleDr. Woodcock Gives Senate FDA Update on Biosimilars
Biologics have been a great advance in therapeutics, but at great cost. Although biologics account for less than 1% of all prescriptions in the USA, they account for 28% percent of the cost of prescribed medications.
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