Good News for Humira Users!

[Guest guest]

I don't mind so much giving myself the shot, its just the medicine

that is so painful, but supposedly this will cut down on the pain.

http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=352604 & catego

ryid=9 & newsletter=1

Abbott Receives FDA Approval for New Humira Delivery Device

- HUMIRA Pen Offers Patients Easier, Less Painful Way to

Self-Administer Medicine -

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., June 26, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Abbott announced today that the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the HUMIRA Pen, a

new device for administering HUMIRA®

(adalimumab), a treatment approved for moderate to severe

rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis

(PsA). With its one-touch activation and easy-to-grasp size and

shape, the HUMIRA Pen offers improved

ease of use for these patients, many of whom may have swelling

or stiffness in the hands. The HUMIRA

Pen has a needle that is not visible during the injection process,

and this device provides a less painful

experience for some patients. Patients place the HUMIRA Pen

against the skin, press a button, and wait for

the medicine to inject. The HUMIRA Pen will be available to U.S.

patients beginning in August.

Currently, HUMIRA is taken as a subcutaneous injection

(injection beneath the kin) via a specially

designed prefilled syringe. HUMIRA is currently indicated for

moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and

for active arthritis in patients with psoriatic arthritis and is being

studied as a possible treatment for other

autoimmune diseases.

In results of the TOUCH (Trial Of Usability in Clinical settings of

HUMIRA Autoinjector vs. Prefilled

Syringe) study, which included 52 HUMIRA prefilled syringe

patients, approximately nine out of 10

preferred the new HUMIRA Pen, rating it more convenient and

easier to use, while approximately eight out

of 10 found it to be less painful.

" Injectable medications are among the most effective treatments

we have for RA and PsA, but nobody enjoys

receiving an injection, " said Alan Kivitz, M.D., practicing

rheumatologist and founder of the Altoona (Pa.)

Center for Clinical Research. " The HUMIRA Pen is an important

advance because it offers people a

convenient administration option to treat their disease. "

The medicine used in the HUMIRA Pen will be identical to that

used in the prefilled syringe and the

standard dosing, 40 mg every other week, remains the same.

" With the approval of the HUMIRA Pen, Abbott furthers its goal of

empowering patients to treat these

potentially debilitating autoimmune diseases as conveniently as

possible, " said Hoffman, divisional

vice president, Immunology Development, Abbott.

The objective of the TOUCH study was to assess which method

of delivery rheumatoid arthritis patients

preferred: the HUMIRA prefilled syringe that they were already

using, or the new HUMIRA Pen. This

study included RA patients (N=52) who had prior experience with

the HUMIRA prefilled syringe and tried

the new HUMIRA Pen. Patients rated their injection preferences

for several attributes, including overall

preference, ease of use, convenience, time to complete injection

and pain.