Overview of biotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

Excerpt

Biological agents targeting a specific molecule provide an effective means for therapeutic management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) due to their specificity and powerful functional capabilities, which has resulted in a paradigm shift in the treatment strategy of this disease. The dramatic improvement of the sign and symptoms of a patient with RA first came from the report with chimeric anti-TNF alpha monoclonal, infliximab in 1993. The observation was confirmed in the double-blind randomized controlled study comparing this biological agent and placebo in 1994. The first approved biologics for RA was TNF Receptor 1-Ig fusion protein, etanercept in the United States in 1998. Until now, nine biological agents are approved in RA worldwide. Revolutionary change of RA management with biological therapies obtained in western countries and Japan has been reviewed [1]. …