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Biological therapies for rheumatoid arthritis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • biologic therapies include the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha inhibitors, (etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab), rituximab and anakinra
  • NICE suggest that:
    • on the balance of its clinical benefits and cost effectiveness, anakinra is not recommended for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), except in the context of a controlled, long-term clinical study
    • patients currently receiving anakinra for RA may suffer loss of wellbeing if their treatment were discontinued at a time they did not anticipate. Therefore, patients should continue therapy with anakinra until they and their consultant consider it is appropriate to stop
    • do not offer the combination of tumour necrosis factor- alpha inhibitor therapy and anakinra for RA

Reference:

  1. NICE (February 2009). Rheumatoid arthritis- The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults

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