Abatacept (marketed as Orencia): New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Approved

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New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Approved, Maker Says

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/12/25/hscout529897.html

A drug that fights painful rheumatoid arthritis by limiting a signal in a

person's immune system has received government approval, its manufacturer

has announced.

Bristol-Myers Squibb says the medication with the generic name of abatacept

(marketed as Orencia) received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval

Dec. 23.

In clinical trials published in the Sept. 15, 2005 issue of the New England

Journal of Medicine abatacept more than doubled the odds that someone with

difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis had at least a 20 percent

improvement in symptoms.

" Rheumatoid arthritis patients should be optimistic because there's now

another option that works well, even where other drugs haven't, " Dr. Mark

Genovese, an associate professor of medicine and the associate division

chief in immunology and rheumatology at Stanford University, told HealthDay.

Genovese is the lead author of the study and also a paid consultant for

Bristol-Myers Squibb.

More than 2 million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis, according to the

Arthritis Foundation. As the disease progresses, loss of movement and

function in the affected joints can occur.

Current treatment options include over-the-counter nonsteroidal

anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other pain relievers; oral steroids;

anti-rheumatic drugs, such as methotrexate; and biologic response modifiers,

such as etanercept and infliximab, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

According to Genovese, abatacept works by blocking a signal that fully

activates the immune system's T-cells. Because the drug modifies the

response of the immune system, the risk of infection is potentially

increased.