An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals
Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP
Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP, is a freelance medical writer and editor. She is also a pharmacist at New York Presbyterian Hospital–Lower Manhattan campus. She has been a past guest lecturer at Touro College of Pharmacy in New York City for the Medical Writing elective. Dr Kaufman is a member of the New York City Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy, the New York State Council of Health-System Pharmacists, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP)—Northeast Region Affiliate Chapter, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the Empire State-Metropolitan NY Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association. She received her BS in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island (URI) College of Pharmacy and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences in Boston. She also completed a Drug Information Fellowship at the URI Drug Information Center/Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, R.I. Dr Kaufman is a registered pharmacist and is a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist.
In a post-marketing safety study, tofacitinib did not prove non-inferior to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors when evaluated for its long-term effects on heart disease, malignancies and serious infections in RA patients.
In January, upadacitinib was approved for use in Europe as a 15 mg, once-daily dose to treat patients with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
The FDA has approved anakinra to treat a rare autoinflammatory disease, deficiency of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist. The administration also approved a new rituximab biosimilar, Riabni, for multiple indications.
Results from two recent phase 3 clinical trials show risankizumab significantly improved the skin and joint symptoms of patients with psoriatic arthritis compared with placebo.
The use of warfarin may increase the risk of knee or hip replacement in patients with osteoarthritis (OA), according to research presented during ACR Convergence 2020.