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Ixekizumab Effective in Ankylosing Spondylitis
Eli Lilly announced today the results of the COAST-W trial showing that ixekizumab (Taltz) was effective in a Phase 3 study Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) patients who had an inadequate response or intolerance to tumor necrosis factor (TNFi) inhibitor therapy.
Read ArticleFive Barriers to Biosimilar Adoption in the US
A recent Deloitte analysis of the biosimilar market in the USA suggests there are defined obstacles to biosimilar use that must be dealt with, especially as the current administration is seeking to lower drug prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs for US consumers.
Read ArticlePublic Citizen Pressures FDA to Pull Febuxostat
Public Citizen has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove Takeda's drug febuxostat (Uloric) from the market, citing the FDA's own warnings and evidence of serious cardiovascular harms. This follows on a recent FDA safety warning and NEJM paper citing cardiovascular concerns over febuxostat.
Read ArticleEnthesitis in PsA: A New Focus of Treatment?
Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) whose disease manifestations include enthesitis showed significantly greater responses to interleukin (IL)-23 inhibition than to blocking tumor necrosis factor (TNF), suggesting the possibility that treatment decisions in the future might be guided by speci
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – EULAR18 Epilogue (6.22.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews EULAR 2018 and the past week's news and reports from RheumNow.com, including DMARDs in OA, the price of Penicillamine, Infections when ANCA+, CV outcomes in gout, NSAIDs in Pregnancy and Seropostive vs. Seronegative Outcomes.
Read ArticleNSAID Use Around Conception Increases Miscarriage Risk
A study from the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology analyzed pregnant women from the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system and compared newly pregnant women who took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen or neither showed that using NSAIDs around conception carried a more than four-fold higher risk of early miscarriage. (Citation source: http://bit.ly/2tqNWN6)
Read ArticleEULAR 2018 - Day 4 Report
The EULAR 2018 wound down on Saturday with fewer oral presentations but many posters. In my last report I put together a collection of impressions and some thematic highlights not covered in previous reports.
Read ArticleCould Measuring Drug Levels with TNF Treatment Hurt Your Patients?
Our colleagues in gastroenterology measure drug levels with certain biologics used in inflammatory bowel disease in order to increase the dose for optimal benefit if the patient has a low trough level (i.e. targeting drug level).
Read ArticleGout Takeaways
The annual EULAR meeting just came to an end today. Rooms are gradually emptying out. People look both content to have updated their knowledge and relieved that four very busy days have concluded. Time to summarize.
Read ArticleMethotrexate Update
I was delighted to see that investigators presenting work at EULAR 2018 haven’t lost interest in our old friend methotrexate, with a number of abstracts examining issues of safety, dose and route of administration.
Read ArticleHigh Biologic Blood Levels Increases the Risk of Infections in RA
A big concern of most is the risk of infection with use of tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) and biologic drugs. While studied in both trials and in post-marketing studies, it is unknown if infection risk is dose-dependent.
Read ArticleChanging my Mind at EULAR
Each year I attend I hope that I’m going to come across something that changes my practice and this year, I think I may have struck gold at a session on Giant Cell arteritis at EULAR in Amsterdam.
Read ArticleUpdate on Osteoporosis
This session was an update on the management of osteoporosis given by Professor Christian Roux from France.
Read ArticleIncreased Risk of Infection in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis
As we gather more knowledge about psoriatic arthritis ( PsA) and psoriasis (PSO) over time, and achieve better outcomes with new therapies, more questions arise about quality of life, survival and comorbidities in PsA and PSO.
Read ArticleEULAR 2018 - Day 2 Report
Highlights from Day 2 of the EULAR meeting in Amsterdam include high MBDA scores in ACPA negative RA predicts remission; characterization of difficult RA; and gender differences in psoriatic responses to TNF inhibitors.
Read ArticleBiosimilar Data at #EULAR2018
Biosimilars are here, and more are being registered all the time, so I was really interested in the biosimilar data at the meeting.
Abbvie Highlights Upadacitinib Trials at EULAR18
Abbvie press releases feature the results from 3 new trials to be presented during the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2018) in Amsterdam from three Phase 3 trials evaluating upadacitinib, an investigational, once-daily oral JAK1-selective inhibitor, in adult patients with moderat
Read ArticleCancer Therapies Inducing Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs)
Recent shifts in the cancer treatment paradigm towards immune therapies has led to wide implementation of the novel immune check point inhibitors (ICI) in the treatment of multiple types of advanced cancer.
Read ArticleJAK Inhibition in Autoinflammatory Syndromes Interferonopathies
While many autoinflammatory syndromes are driven and managed with select inhibition of IL-1, IL-18 or IL-6, a subset are driven by type I interferon and are referred to as interferonopathies. These monogenic IFN–mediated disorders present in infancy with fevers, systemic inflammation, an IFN response gene signature, inflammatory organ damage, and high mortality.
Read ArticleTNF Inhibitors Don't Increase Cancer Risk in Children
While the risk of neoplasia with tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) use has been largely nullified in most inflammatory disorders, this risk in children is less certain. However a recent study shows no risk of increased cancer in children treated with TNFi for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (pIBD) and pediatric plaque psoriasis (pPsO).
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