All News
Secukinumab Improves Enthesitis
Secukinumabs (SEC) effect on enthesitis in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was studied in the FUTURE 2 and 3 studies and SEC was shown significantly reduced enthesitis by more than 65% within 14 week.
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BMS and Celgene Merge as Amgen Buys Otezla
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has completed its $74 billion acquisition of Celgene. With the acquisition complete, Celgene is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMS. The combined companies have nine products with more than $1 billion in annual sales.
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Psoriatic Arthritis at ACR 2019
Below are several of the highlight studies in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) presented at the ACR 2019 annual meeting in Atlanta.
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ACR 2019 – Best of the Plenary Sessions
The ACR Plenary Sessions featured some of the best research presented on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Atlanta. Here are my seven notable highlights from the Plenaries.
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RheumNow Podcast – ACR 2019 Round Up (11.15.19)
Dr. Jack Cush presents his favorite abstracts and presentations from Rheumatology Round Up and ACR 2019.
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RheumNow Podcast – Better Ways to Treat Gout (11.8.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Most Psoriatics Go on Biologics
A cohort study of 97 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) examined the prescribing practices in PsA, and found biologics are commonly initiated as the primary mode of therapy in outpatients with PsA. However, treatment modifications can be made regarding patients who are managed with apremilast alone.
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New EMA Warnings for Tofacitinib in Patients at Risk for Clots
The European Medicines Agency safety committee (PRAC) has concluded that Xeljanz (tofacitinib - TOFA) could increase the risk of blood clots in the lungs and in deep veins in patients who are already at high risk for venous thromboembolic events. The PRAC is recommending that TOFA should be used with caution in patients at high risk of blood clots (VTE), regardless of dose used.
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Mallinckrodt Receives SEC Subpoena
Reuters reports that Mallinckrodt Plc has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for documents related to the drugmaker’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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Year in Review - Psoriatic Arthritis 2019
Major new insights into the treatment of psoriatic arthritis dominated the headlines during the past year, with a head-to-head trial comparing IL-17A inhibition with tumor necrosis factor blockade, another study considering whether methotrexate can improve outcomes with anti-TNF therapy in PsA, and an investigation into the effects of biologic therapy on bone.
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Physical Activity Lowers Fracture Risk in Post-Menopausal Women
An analysis from the Women’s Health Initiative study shows that postmenopausal women who participate in vigorous physical activity have a statistically lower risk of total and site-specific fractures
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EXCEED Study: Cosentyx Equals Humira in Psoriatic Arthritis
Novartis has announced the results of the EXCEED trial that pitted its IL-17 inhibitor, Cosentyx (secukinumab - SEC) against Humira (adalimumab - ADA) in patients with active psoriatic arthritis. The trial demonstrated that SEC was not non-inferior to ADA, but failed to meet its primary endpoint of superiority over ADA as far as drug efficacy.
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Rinvoq (upadacitinib) Effective in Psoriatic Arthritis
Yesterday, AbbVie reported the top-line study results showing the efficacy of Rinvoq (upadacitinib - UPAD) adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis who previously had an inadequate response to a biologic DMARD.
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RheumNow Podcast – Ghastly, Ghoulish News (10.31.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews recent journal articles and info bits from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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The Global Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis 2017
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study (GBD) from 2017 analyzed the burden of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for 195 countries between 1990 to 2017 and surmised that RA is a major global public health challenge, with increasing prevalence and incidence rates.
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Frequent DMARD Discontinuations During Rheumatoid Pregnancies
A Canadian population-based study shows that pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) frequently discontinue their DMARD medications, especially in the first trimester.
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Methotrexate and the Risk of Lung Disease
Rheumatology has a comprehensive overview of methotrexate (MTX) and the risk of lung injury, MTX-related pneumonitis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Past reports suggest the frequence of MTX-pneumonitis to be between 0.3 and 11.6%; recent studies suggest it may be much lower.
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The Shame Behind Adalimumab Biosimilars
JAMA has an article this week on the shift from biologic drugs to less expensive therapeutic biosimilar agents. The impact of biosimilars can be easily represented by the shift from adalimuamb - a biologic with nearly $19 billion in sales in 2018 - to any one of the four FDA approved biosimilars for adalimumab (see the daily download for slides on new adalimumab and other biosimilars).
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RheumNow Podcast – The Shoes Maketh the Doctor (10.25.19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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FDA Issues Boxed Warning and Recommendations for Breast Implant Use
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a new draft guidance document calling for a boxed warning and delineation of risks with breast implants.
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