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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Articles by Natasha Yetman

Biosimilar Infliximab Appears Safe, Effective in Pediatric IBD

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A biosimilar version of infliximab appears as effective as the original for treating pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD), and less costly, new research shows. “These baseline data have now enabled us to confidently switch patients from originator to biosimilar, adopting the same prospective methodology to monitor effectiveness, safety and cost,” Dr. Lisa…

U.S. Judge in Texas Invalidates Allergan Patents on Restasis

Jan Wolfe & Michael Erman  |  

(Reuters)—A U.S. judge invalidated patents on Allergan Plc’.s dry eye medicine Restasis on the grounds that the patents cover obvious ideas, a decision that drove the pharmaceutical company’s shares down more than 6%. Judge William Bryson issued the ruling in federal court in Marshall, Texas, in a longstanding dispute between Allergan and generic drugmakers led…

U.S. Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal on Obamacare Backed by Trump

Yasmeen Abutaleb & Richard Cowan  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—On Tuesday, two U.S. senators announced a bipartisan breakthrough to shore up Obamacare for two years by reviving federal subsidies for health insurers that President Donald Trump planned to scrap, and the president voiced support for the plan. The agreement worked out by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would meet…

GlaxoSmithKline’s Shingles Vaccine Gets Approval in Canada

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Canadian health regulators have approved GlaxoSmithKline’s shingles vaccine, the company said on Friday.1 Shingrix, the British pharma company’s shingles vaccine for people aged 50 years or older, was unanimously recommended for approval by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel last week. Older people are most at risk of an outbreak of shingles,…

U.S. States Plan Suit to Block Trump Obamacare Subsidies Cut

Yasmeen Abutaleb & Dan Levine  |  

WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—On Friday, California, New York and others states vowed to sue President Donald Trump’s administration to stop him from scrapping a key component of Obamacare, subsidies to insurers that help millions of low-income people pay medical expenses, even as Trump invited Democratic leaders to negotiate a deal. One day after his administration announced…

After Medical Errors, Patients Want Doctors to Hear Them Out

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—When medical errors lead to serious injuries, patients and families may feel better when doctors take the time to listen to their feelings about the mistake and explain what can be done to prevent it from happening again, a small study suggests. The research team interviewed 27 patients, three family members and 10 staff…

Flexion’s Knee Pain Drug Gets FDA Approval

Divya Grover  |  

(Reuters)—Flexion Therapeutics Inc. said its injectable drug to treat osteoarthritis-related knee pain was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The approval comes at a time when U.S. federal authorities are implementing a slew of measures to combat opioid abuse, with President Donald Trump in August declaring the opioid epidemic a national emergency. The…

Herpes Zoster & Tofacitinib

Arthritis & Rheumatology  |  

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster (HZ), is a common and sometimes debilitating disease that disproportionately affects elderly individuals and those who are immunocompromised. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a 1.5–2-fold higher risk of developing HZ compared with healthy adults. Treatment with some disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been shown to increase this risk….

From the Front Lines: Managing RA Comorbidities in Primary Care

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

How are comorbidities for RA patients managed outside of rheumatology? A recent Canadian study developed and assessed quality measures related to preventive care and screenings for RA patients in a primary care setting, comparing RA and non-RA patients. The results: Primary care physicians often provide similar levels of care to patients with and without RA. But RA patients were less likely to receive some cancer screenings and all necessary tests to assess their cardiovascular risk…

Republican Bill to Repeal Obamacare Teeters on Edge of Collapse

Susan Cornwell & Richard Cowan  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The latest Republican effort to repeal former U.S. President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law faced possible defeat this week as several senators in the party voiced concerns about the bill under consideration. The U.S. Senate is up against a Saturday deadline for deciding the fate of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as…