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Risk of tuberculosis from arthritis medication examined

Treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents is recognized as a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's ...

Medicine & Health - Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Jun 30, 2009

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Adalimumab

Adalimumab (HUMIRA, Abbott) is the third TNF inhibitor, after infliximab and etanercept, to be approved in the United States. Like infliximab and etanercept, adalimumab binds to TNFα, preventing it from activating TNF receptors; adalimumab was constructed from a fully human monoclonal antibody, while infliximab is a mouse-human chimeric antibody and etanercept is a TNF receptor-IgG fusion protein. TNFα inactivation has proven to be important in downregulating the inflammatory reactions associated with autoimmune diseases. As of 2008 adalimumab has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, moderate to severe chronic psoriasis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

However, because TNFα is part of the immune system that protects the body from infection, prolonged treatment with adalimumab may slightly increase the risk of developing infections.

HUMIRA ("Human Monoclonal Antibody in Rheumatoid Arthritis") is marketed in both preloaded 0.8 mL syringes and also in preloaded pen devices (called Humira Pen), both injected subcutaneously, typically by the patient at home. It cannot be administered orally, because the digestive system would destroy the drug.

Adalimumab was the first fully human monoclonal antibody drug approved by the FDA. It was derived from phage display, and was discovered through a collaboration between BASF Bioresearch Corporation (Worcester, Massachuetts, a unit of BASF) and Cambridge Antibody Technology as D2E7, then further manufactured at BASF Bioresearch Corporation and developed by BASF Knoll (BASF Pharma) and, ultimately, manufactured and marketed by Abbott Laboratories after the acquisition of BASF Pharma by Abbott.

In 2009, HUMIRA had over $5 billion in annual sales.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA

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