Adalimumab Effective for AS, RA and PsA

Posted 6/17/08

Adalimumab therapy is effective and well-tolerated in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients with a previously inadequate response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies etanercept and infliximab, according to results of research presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. This positive response to adalimumab was greatest for patients who had been intolerant of their anti-TNF therapies, or had lost their initial responses, compared with those who had had no response to prior anti-TNF therapies at all.

Lead researcher, Dr. G. R. Burmester of Berlin University Hospital, commented: "An increasing number of patients with rheumatic diseases, such as AS, RA or PsA, are experiencing an inadequate response to, or are intolerant of, treatment with existing anti-TNFs including etanercept or infliximab. The results of our study show that adalimumab offers new hope for those who have tried, but not responded well to, other treatment options for their diseases."

This article was adapted from a press release issued by EULAR.