Abbott says Humira helps Crohn's patients (+ RA, AS & PsA)

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Abbott says Humira helps Crohn's patients

Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:00am ET

http://today.reuters.com/news/

LOS ANGELES, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. said on Monday that

its rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira has been shown to help patients with

Crohn's disease who do not respond to & 's drug Remicade.

After four weeks of treatment, a study found that 21 percent of Humira

patients achieved remission, compared with 7 percent of patients given a

placebo, the company said.

The study involved 325 patients with moderate to severe forms of Crohn's

disease who had stopped responding to or who could not tolerate Remicade.

Both drugs work by blocking a protein called tumor necrosis factor.

Side effects of Humira included abdominal pain, joint pain, headache and

injection-site irritation.

In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, Humira is currently approved for use in

patients with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, a spinal

condition. Abbott filed in September for regulatory approval to market the

drug for treatment of Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease is chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal

tract that is estimated to affect more than 1 million people in North

America and Europe.

The Humira trial results were presented at a Las Vegas meeting of the

American College of Gastroenterology.