Remicade gets UK launch
The anti-TNF drug, Remicade, was finally launched for use in severe rheumatoid arthritis in the UK.
Clinicians believe that Remicade (generic name infliximab) will offer real hope to patients with severe RA. Paul Emery, ARC Professor of Rheumatology at Leeds, who was involved in the clinical trials, said: "I think patients' quality of life is the real proof that this drug is a major advance. My patients who have been infused with Remicade really have had their lives changed. They can now do so many things that they haven't been able to do for years. For them it is a major breakthrough."
At around £6,300 for the first year's dose, reducing to £5,500 for following years, the drug is not as expensive as was initially anticipated, but is still considerably more than existing DMARD therapy.
There are fears that the drug will not be widely available to patients who would benefit from it because of its high cost.
"There is a danger that people's access will be determined more by where they live than by clinical need - so-called postcode prescribing, " said Dr Andrew Bamji of the British Society for Rheumatology. To avoid this the BSR has drawn up national guidelines to health planners and clinicians as to when to prescribe the new therapies on clinical grounds.
Dr Bamji added that in the long term significant savings in both medical and social services may be made by the introduction of the new anti-TNF therapies. Patients would also be able to stay in employment longer. Rheumatoid arthritis is currently estimated to cost the NHS around £240m a year.
The Arthritis Research Campaign, which carried out the pioneering anti-TNF research at the Kennedy Institute in London, which directly led to the development of Remicade, wants the drug to be made as widely available as possible.
"There are volunteers all over the country who have worked hard for many years to raise funds for research which could lead to a new therapy like this," said the Arthritis Research Campaign's chief executive Fergus Logan.
"Having helped to produce something which is clinically very valuable; it would be a huge disappointment if the drug is not disseminated to those who would benefit from it.
"Our two leading scientists behind the development of the new therapies are shortly to be awarded a prestigious award by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences - the same body which awards the Nobel Prize - for this groundbreaking research. So it would be deeply ironic if their work was highly acclaimed, but not given a practical application.
