Biosimilar Reports – May 2017

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Biosimilars continue to command a great deal of research, development and attention given the promise of significant cost savings and potentially wider use for those in need. Biosimilar Reports is an ongoing series dedicated to advances, discussions and developments in biosimilar agents intended for use by rheumatologists. 

Golimumab Fails in Polyarticular Juvenile Arthritis

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Treatment options for children with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (polyJIA) have lagged behind that seen with adult rheumatoid arthritis.

Biologics Before Triple DMARD is Not Cost Effective in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Stepping up to biologic therapy when methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy fails was not shown to be cost effective, compared to first trying triple therapy, in a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 26 May 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush Reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:

Inflammatory Arthritis Stable after Switch to Biosimilar Infliximab

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The DANBIO registrys has demonstrated that switching from infliximab (Remicade) to biosimilar CT-P13 (Inflectra in the U.S., Remsima in Europe) does not appear to have any negative effect on inflammatory arthritis disease activity, Danish researchers reported.

Educational Intervention Facilitates Treat-to-Target Management in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Treat-to-target education through group-based quality improvement sessions can result in wider use of treat-to-target in practice, according to researchers.

NOR-SWITCH Study Validates Biosimilar Use in Multiple Indications

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Lancet reports the results of the NOR-SWITCH study - a trial performed in Norway as biosimilars were being introduced.

The RheumNow Week in Review – 12 May 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush highlights the big stories, news and articles from this week at RheumNow.com.

Adalimumab Effective in Pediatric Plaque Psoriasis

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Adalimumab is currently FDA approved for use in adult psoriasis, pediatric Crohn's disease and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis.  The current Lancet trial assesses the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in children and adolescents with severe plaque psoriasis.

Above-Label Dosing and Noncompliance with Biologics in Psoriatic Arthritis

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Claims data analysis of 4245 psoriatic arthritis patients on TNF inhibitors showed both higher than expected durations of noncompliance and higher than label dosing - all at an increased cost.

The RheumNow Week in Review – 28 April 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the last week on RheumNow.com - from the ACR SOTA 2017 meeting in Chicago:

Pregnancy Flares in RA and Spondylitis

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Despite the folklore, not all women with arthritis who become pregnant will improve or go into remission.  Recent studies have suggested that up to one-third of RA patients will flare during pregnancy.

FDA Approves Renflexis as Second Infliximab Biosimilar

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On the 21st of April, the FDA approved another infliximab biosimilar, called Renflexis (Infliximab-abda) following on the biologics license application of the South Korean manufacturer Samsung Bioepis Co. LTD.  In early developmental trials this agent was also called SB2.

Paradoxical Toxicities with TNF Inhibitors

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Something is curiously wrong when a drug induces the disease it is intended to treat. Yet this phenomenon has been described with all five FDA-approved TNF inhibitors.

Inconsistent ESR & CRP in Spondylitis Patients

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Patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) can lack evidence of inflammation on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but may develop evidence of inflammation over time.

Anti-IL-23 Therapy Effective in Crohn's Disease

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Lancet has reported the results of risankizumab, an interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor, in Crohn's disease. Risankizumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody targeting the p19 subunit of interleukin-23, and is being developed for Crohn's disease.

The RheumNow Week in Review – 14 April 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the past week's news, articles and advances from RheumNow.com.

Biologic Safety Holds Up in RA

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An updated systematic literature review has provided reassuring evidence regarding the increasing safety of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), European researchers reported. 

The RheumNow Week in Review – 31 March 2017

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the news and Advances in Targeted Therapies meeting in Mandelieu, France:

Tweeting this week from Advances in Targeted Therapies #ATT2017 in Mandelieu, France.

TNF Inhibitor Induced Psoriasis

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Tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNFi) rarely have been reported to induce new-onset psoriasis.