News

Pfizer is recruiting adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis for a new Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and therapeutic activity of Xeljanz (tofacitinib). The study (NCT03502616) is expected to enroll about 240 participants who have not responded or been intolerant to standard treatment with a…

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients who have failed to respond to standard therapy may benefit from treatment with ixekizumab (Taltz by Eli Lilly), Phase 3 study results show. The study, “Efficacy and Safety of Ixekizumab in the Treatment of Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: 16 Week Results of a…

With the U.S. midterm elections now less than two weeks away, patient advocacy groups are solidly focused on a range of hot-button issues, from the Orphan Drug Tax Creditand affordable health insurance to future funding for rare disease research. Yet “whether Democrats take over the House or Senate, or…

Patients with ankylosing spondylitis treated with anti-rheumatic drugs or anti-tumor necrosis therapy are not more likely to develop infections compared to non-users, a study shows. The study, “Use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic or anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs and risk of hospitalized infection in ankylosing spondylitis,” was published in the…

Filgotinib, an investigational therapy for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and other inflammatory diseases, was able to significantly reduce disease activity, according to recent Phase 2 clinical trial results announced by Gilead Sciences and Galapagos biotech companies. The trial’s findings, “Efficacy and safety of filgotinib,…

Five-year treatment with Cosentyx (secukinumab) is safe and effective in easing signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), according to results of a Phase 3 extension clinical trial. This new data are scheduled to be presented Oct. 23 at the 2018 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP) Annual…

Malfunction of the ankylosing spondylitis-associated gene, ERAP1, is connected to the loss of a certain type of immune cell, which seems to contribute to the inflammation process associated with the disease, according to a mouse study. Researchers now want to move to human trials in the coming years to validate…

Half a year has gone by since disgraced pharma executive Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for securities and wire fraud while heading San Diego-based Retrophin. As founder and CEO of another company (then known as Turing Pharmaceuticals), in late 2015 Shkreli bought the rights…

Risk factors of new spinal bone formation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) partially differ between men and women, according to a five-year Swedish study. The study, “A five-year prospective study of spinal radiographic progression and its predictors in men and women with ankylosing spondylitis,”…

The European Commission (EU) has granted marketing authorization for Hulio, a biosimilar to Humira, for the treatment of a number of chronic inflammatory diseases including ankylosing spondylitis. According to the EC’s decision, Hulio will be available in the 28 EU member countries and three European Economic Area member states —…