Author Archives: Ana Pena, PhD

HS016, a biosimilar candidate of Humira (adalimumab), was seen to have equivalent safety and effectiveness at treating adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in a Phase 3 trial in China. Researchers believe that HS016 could be a less expensive alternative to Humira for AS…

Women with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and other inflammatory conditions who take TNF inhibitors during pregnancy may be at higher risk for preterm birth, cesarean section, and smaller babies, according to a study from Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Yet the findings varied by type of…

Rinvoq (upadacitinib), an oral therapy recently approved for rheumatoid arthritis, was effective in treating adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who failed to respond to or are not eligible for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a Phase 2/3 trial shows. After 14 weeks of treatment, taking daily…

Biogen has signed an agreement with Samsung Bioepis that includes an option of extending commercialization rights to three biosimilars of TNF inhibitor therapies used for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) — Benepali (etanercept), Flixabi (infliximab), and Imraldi (adalimumab) — for an additional five years in Europe. The…

Men, people who are employed, have a lower income, perceive less control over their lives, and are less satisfied about their social roles, are among those with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) more prone to depression, a Dutch study has shown. While disease activity contributes only moderately to depression,…

Eli Lilly‘s Taltz (ixekizumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS), also known as radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. Taltz is a biological therapy, or a biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD), that blocks…

Total hip replacement surgery, or hip arthroplasty, has doubled in older patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), outpacing the rates in the general population over recent years, a U.S. population-based study shows. AS patients who had this surgery had twice as many knee replacement interventions, compared to…

Percutaneous interbody fusion (PIF), a minimally invasive and potentially safer procedure, is feasible to stabilize spinal fractures due to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and complicated by pseudarthrosis, a Chinese study has found. One day after the intervention, patients felt relief from spinal…

TNF inhibitors, or blockers, are safer than previously thought for patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and may have fewer unwanted side effects than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the standard first-line therapy for AS, a retrospective study has found. The study, “Adverse events in…

Both the lifetime risk of valvular heart disease (VHD) and the need for pacemakers markedly increase with age for people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). But these risk rates are only slightly higher than those for people without the disease, a U.S. population-based study shows. In light of these…