Three groups of conventional therapies include salicylates, immunosuppressants and antibiotics. Yet relief is often shortlived and comes with significant side effects. 80% and 45% of CD and UC patients (Respectively) will still require surgery [16]. Biological response modifiers or ‘biologics’, macromolecules that target inflammatory lymphocytes or the cytokines they produce [7], have more rece...

Psoriasis is a T helper (Th)17/Th1-mediated autoimmune disease affecting the skin and joints. So far, distinct traditional oral compounds and modern biologics have been approved in most countries for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Yet, the anti-psoriatic therapeutic spectrum is to be extended by a number of novel targeted therapies including ...

Severe asthma has a great impact on the quality of life (QOL) of patients and their families. The magnitude of this morbidity is affected by several personal factors including age. Appropriate asthma control and modifications of social roles and activities are expected to improve QOL. Biologics, primarily monoclonal antibodies, have been developed to target specific pathways and molecules impor...

Biologics have become key agents for the management of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Biosimilars are biological medicines similar to previously authorized biologics and are already available in some countries. This ECCO Position Statement defines the collective view of European specialist in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) concerning biosimilars. Biosimilars are not comparable to gen...

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory disorder, primarily of the skin. Despite an aging population, knowledge of the epidemiology of psoriasis and its treatments among the elderly is limited. We examined the prevalence of psoriasis and its treatments, with a focus on biologics and identification of factors associated with biologic use, using a nationally representative sample of Medicare b...

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis is a complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We identified risk factors for osteoporosis during treatment with biologics. METHODS Femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in 186 patients with biologics-treated RA. We compared the characteristics of those with BMD ≥70% of young adult mean (YAM) and those with BMD <70% of YAM, and undertook multivariable l...

BACKGROUND No equivalence analysis has yet been conducted on the effectiveness of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis. Equivalence testing has a specific scientific interest, but can also be useful for deciding whether acquisition tenders are feasible for the pharmacological agents being compared. METHODS Our search covered the literature up to August 2014. Our methodology was a combination of ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Economic evaluations provide information to aid the optimal utilization of limited healthcare resources. Costs of biologics for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are remarkably high, which makes these agents an important target for economic evaluations. This systematic review aims to identify existing studies examining the cost-effectiveness of biologics for RA, assess their q...

As the Global Medical Affairs Gastroenterology Lead for tofacitinib at Pfizer, I read with great interest the review by Dr Ungar and Dr Kopylov entitled “Advances in the development of new biologics in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)” [1]. In reading the article, I identified a number of inaccuracies concerning tofacitinib, which I thought should be brought to the attention of the authors and ...

BACKGROUND Biologics are effective for the treatment of psoriasis. However, treatment outcomes may differ among biologic-naive patients and those switched from previous biological therapies. OBJECTIVES The study's objective was to investigate efficacy and safety of ixekizumab, a high-affinity anti-interleukin-17A antibody, in patients with psoriasis with and without previous exposure to biolo...