Battling Arthritis

Roche Holding AG’s arthritis drug Actemra™ just won Japanese approval, which will then be sold by Roche’s Chugai unit.

Actemra is the first humanized interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody. An extensive clinical development program of five Phase III trials was designed to evaluate clinical findings of Actemra.

Four studies are completed and have reported meeting their primary endpoints. A fifth trial, a two-year study called LITHE (TociLIzumab safety and THE prevention of structural joint damage), is currently underway and is expected to report preliminary first-year data in 2008.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is is an autoimmune inflammatory disease affecting the patient systemically.

It is associated with progressive joint damage, pain, fatigue, and disability. Systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SOJIA) is a more specific type of childhood diabetes with an unknown cause. Both conditions are related to the activity of the cytokine compound interleukin 6, which is involved in the activation of cells in the inflammatory response.

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