News

As Congress begins debate this week to overhaul the U.S. tax code, lawmakers should leave the Orphan Drug Act (ODA) — and the tax incentives it offers pharmaceutical companies to develop therapies for rare diseases — off the table. That’s the message being pushed by the National Organization for…

Patients with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) treated with Amgen‘s Enbrel (etanercept), which blocks tumor necrosis factor (TNF), experience a very early reparative response to therapy, new research shows. The study, “Modification of structural lesions on MRI of the sacroiliac joints by etanercept in the…

CreakyJoints has released a guide for people living with ankylosing spondylitis, the first to be developed by patients and reviewed by rheumatologists. “A Patient’s Guide to Living with Ankylosing Spondylitis,” is available for download free of charge (by following the link) for patients and their caregivers.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients must be screened for certain cancers due to their higher risk, a study from Taiwan warns. The study, “Ankylosing spondylitis and the risk of cancer,” appeared in the journal Oncology Letters. It aimed to assess whether AS is associated with an increased cancer risk.

A meta-analysis of studies on ankylosing spondylitis found a link between a mutation in the Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene and AS. AS is a chronic inflammatory disease that is fairly common around the world. Its incidence ranges from 7.4-31.9 per 10,000 people, depending on the region. The main symptoms…

Xeljanz (tofacitinib) showed promising results for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients in a 16-week Phase 2 clinical trial. AS patients with active disease receiving Xeljanz treatment showed great improvement in symptoms and clinical disease profiles when compared to patients treated with placebo. The study, “Tofacitinib in patients with ankylosing…

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for Cyltezo, a Humira (adalimumab) biosimilar, for the treatment of multiple chronic inflammatory diseases, including severe active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The maker of Cyltezo, Boehringer Ingelheim, submitted a marketing…

After analyzing 80 axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients, a French research team found a lower bone mineral density (BMD, or weaker bones) among those who also have a lower body mass index (BMI). The results were reported in a study titled “Prevalence and risk factors of low bone mineral density…

Obese patients with axial spondyloarthritis are less likely to respond to treatment with TNF blockers than patients at a healthy weight, according to a study suggesting that weight loss could improve treatment outcomes. Heavier patients who received Remicade (infliximab) — whose doses are based on weight — did not have…

Patients with chronic inflammatory disorders, including ankylosing spondylitis, are at a higher risk of experiencing multiple cardiometabolic events than matching controls with no inflammatory disease. The risk was almost three times higher for those treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) compared with those without an inflammatory disease, leading researchers to urge…