The interleukin-6 receptor antagonist sarilumab has been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Sarilumab is suitable for patients with an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and is recommended for use either as a monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate or other DMARDs. The recommended dose is 200 mg given as a subcutaneous injection once every 2 weeks.
The FDA cautions that sarilumab should not be taken by patients who are experiencing an active infection, and the label includes a boxed warning for serious infection risk.
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