Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

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

Drug Updates

Subcategories:AnalgesicsBiologics/DMARDs

New Analysis Underscores Improving Pharma R&D Productivity

Ben Hirschler  |  

LONDON (Reuters)—Drug industry productivity is continuing to improve, with a bumper haul of new products being launched and companies proving more successful in the final stages of clinical testing, according to a new analysis. Data from Thomson Reuters published on Tuesday showed the number of innovative medicines, or new molecular entities, launched globally in 2014…

Skin Complications of Anti-TNF Therapy Common in IBD

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Dermatologic complications hit about one in five patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy, leading to discontinuation of treatment, a French study finds. Dr. Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, from University Hospital of Nancy, and colleagues note that dermatological complications of anti-TNF therapy are known to occur frequently in IBD…

Adalimumab Remains Safe, Effective for Psoriasis

Scott Baltic  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In adults with chronic plaque psoriasis, adalimumab (Humira, AbbVie) was generally well tolerated and effective during five years of therapy, according to a new analysis. The interim analysis is from ESPRIT, a 10-year multinational post-marketing registry. “Clinical trials are not the real world,” in part because patients with comorbidities are screened out…

Some Placebos More Effective Than Others in Osteoarthritis

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Some placebos are more effective than others, and these differences can influence the apparent outcomes of clinical trials, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of osteoarthritis trials. “More surprising than the fact that all placebos are not equal is the magnitude of that difference,” Dr. Raveendhara R. Bannuru, from Tufts Medical…

Some Serious Drug Side Effects Not Reported to FDA Within 15 days

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Companies fail to report roughly one in 10 serious and unexpected medication side effects to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within a 15-day window specified by federal regulations to protect patient safety, a study finds. Drug manufacturers are also less likely to disclose serious adverse events within this window when patient deaths…

Evidence Lacking for Tests for Psoriasis Patients Using Biologic Agents

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Various organizations recommend dozens of screening and monitoring tests for patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis who are using systemic biologic agents, despite sparse evidence to support any of them. “At a population level, these medications have proven to be very safe and the evidence does not support such extensive and frequent…

Anthem to Buy Cigna to Create Biggest U.S. Health Insurer

Ankur Banerjee  |  

(Reuters)—Anthem Inc. said on Friday it would buy Cigna Corp. in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership. The deal—the biggest ever in the health insurance industry—comes three weeks after Aetna Inc agreed to buy Humana Inc for $37 billion and is part of an industry-wide consolidation following…