CDC Endorses New Shingles Vaccine Over Zostavax

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The  U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced on 25 October they endorsed the use of the new GSK shingles vaccine (Shingrix) over the currently available live-virus vaccine (Zostavax) from Merck. 

RABBIT Risk Scores are Higher in ICU-Admitted RA Patients

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The German Rheumatoid Arthritis Biologics Registry (RABBIT) has developed an infectious risk calculator that can project a patient's risk of serious infection in the next 6 months based on several key factors - age, Prior DMARDs, prednisone dose, comorbidities and the biologic intended for use.&n

Top 16 Drugs in Rheumatology 2016

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Using data compiled from annual reports, SEC filings, press releases, company websites, recently released sales figures show that in 2016, 11 of the top 16 rheumatology drugs demonstrated blockbuster sales (>$1 billion per annum).  Highlights from this report include:

Biosimilars Projected to Yield $54 Billion in Savings

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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. 

FDA Approves Simponi Aria for Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis

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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).

Rheumatologists are Slow to Change DMARDs

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The paradigm of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy mandates early diagnosis and aggressive treatment.  Yet a recent cohort study has shown that RA patients with moderate to high disease activity (MHDAS) were met with infrequent DMARD adjustments; with median time to DMARD adjustment being 5 months and median time to low disease activity (LDAS) was roughly 10 months. 

Spinal X-ray Inhibition in Ankylosing Spondylitis Best Achieved by Control of Activity

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Although tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) are highly effective (on clinical grounds) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), proof that they may alter the course of spinal radiographic progression has been scant.

2016 EULAR Guidelines on RA Management

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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.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 6 October 2017

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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.

Amgen-Abbvie Settle Humira Biosimilar Patent Dispute

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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.

29 September 2017 The RheumNow Week in Review

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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.

No Cancer Risk With Biologic Use

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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.

FDA Panel Backs New Zoster Subunit Vaccine

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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.

New Recommendations on Biosimilar Use

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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.  

Shingles Vaccine Studies in A&R

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The current issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology features an editorial and two novel articles on the herpes zoster vaccine.

Canakinumab Reduces CV Outcomes in High Risk Patients

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The results of a randomized, double-blind trial have shown that canakinumab (CAN), an interleukin-1β inhibitor, given as 150 mg every 3 months, resulted in a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events (in high-risk CV patients), independent of lipid-level lowering. The results of the CANTOS studywere simultaneously published in NEJM, Lancet and were presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona.

Another Adalimumab Biosimilar Approved

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On Friday August 25th, the FDA approved another adalimumab biosimilar: Cyltezo (generic name: adalimumab-adbm).

Adalimumab Biosimilars Adding Up

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Reuters reports that yet another adalimumab biosimilar has been approved by European Union regulators.

The new drug is named Imraldi, and is manufactured by Samsung Bioepis, a company who has several biosimilars approved or in development for worldwide use.

Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Infections - Diagnosis and Management for the Rheumatologist

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Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial infections are among the most frequently reported opportunistic infections in the setting of biologic therapy. While there are hundreds of NTM species, only a minority are clinically relevant. In this review, I'll address important NTM diagnosis and management issues relevant to patients receiving biologic therapy.

IV Golimumab Shines in Psoriatic Arthritis

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Golimumab (GOL) is one of five marketed TNF inhibitors (TNFi) that is FDA approved for use in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).