Autoimmunity News

Tuesday, May 06, 2008 FDA Adds “Black Box” Warning About Infections to Enbrel Label
FDA has heightened warnings on the prescribing information for etanercept with regard to serious infections and has warned clinicians to screen patients for latent TB before beginning treatment...

Friday, May 02, 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Passes Congress, Heads for White House
Both houses of Congress have passed legislation that bans discrimination in employment, insurance, and other areas based on an individual’s genetic makeup, and the bill is expected to be quickly signed into law by President George W. Bush...

Thursday, May 01, 2008 Genentech, Biogen Idec Report Phase II/III Trial of Rituxan^® Fails to Meet Primary or Secondary Endpoints in Lupus
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase II/III study of Rituxan^® (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) did not meet its primary endpoint or any of the six secondary endpoints...

Thursday, May 01, 2008 La Jolla Pharmaceutical Reports Positive 12-Month Interim Antibody Data From Phase III Study of Riquent^® for SLE; Significant, Sustained Reductions Observed in Antibodies to dsDNA
Analyses of data in the first 125 randomized patients indicate that for all patients treated with Riquent^® compared with placebo, there were significantly greater reductions in antibodies to double-stranded (ds) DNA...

Thursday, May 01, 2008 Are Rheumatologists Bugging Out Over New RA Treatment?
New research shows that a particular species of Chinese medicinal ant known as Polyrhachis lamellidens may help fight rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis…

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 UCB Launches CIMplicity™ Program to Provide Comprehensive Treatment Support to Crohn’s Disease Patients Receiving Cimzia^® (certolizumab pegol)
UCB's new CIMplicity™ program provides Cimzia^® patients and their caregivers with comprehensive financial, administrative, compliance, and treatment support...

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Grim Picture Painted for Lupus 5-Year Mortality Risk
Despite some advances in treatment, recently diagnosed lupus patients still face elevated risks of death within 5 years of their diagnosis when compared with lupus-free controls…

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Recent Advances in the Management of Crohn's Disease
Biological agents offer advances in the treatment of Crohn’s disease, while surgery and autologous stem cell transplantation may be viable options for patients with severe refractory Crohn’s…

Monday, April 21, 2008 Abbott’s Humira^® (adalimumab) Approved in Japan for the Treatment of RA
Abbott received approval in Japan for Humira^® (adalimumab) to treat RA in patients with inadequate response to conventional therapy...

Friday, April 18, 2008 Roche’s Actemra^® (tocilizumab) Approved in Japan to Treat Patients With RA; Represents First Approval for Actemra in RA Worldwide
Roche partner company Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd has received approval in Japan for Actemra^® (tocilizumab) 200 mg for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, making Japan the first market to gain access to Actemra for the treatment of RA...