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Published in: BMC Medicine 1/2013

Open Access 01-12-2013 | Review

Biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases: an update

Authors: Ziv Rosman, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Gisele Zandman-Goddard

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2013

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Abstract

Biologic therapies for rheumatologic diseases, which are targeted at molecules involved in the mechanisms of the immune system, provide an alternative to the existing treatment methods of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and other immunosuppressive medications. However, the current drawbacks of biologic therapies, including the inconvenience of intravenous administration, the high costs of these drugs, and the adverse events associated with them, prevent their wide use as first-line medications. This review provides an update of the recent literature on the new biologic therapies available. The review concentrates on nine drugs: tocilizumab, rituximab, ofatumumab, belimumab, epratuzumab, abatacept, golimumab, certolizumab, and sifalimumab, which are used as therapies for rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, or vasculitis.
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Metadata
Title
Biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases: an update
Authors
Ziv Rosman
Yehuda Shoenfeld
Gisele Zandman-Goddard
Publication date
01-12-2013
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2013
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-88

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