Today is the committee on the approval of Acterma for RA. I never heard of it- is it another biologic?ACTEMRA is the first humanized interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody and represents a novel mechanism of action to treat RA. Studies suggest that reducing the activity of IL-6, one of several key cytokines involved in the inflammatory process, may reduce inflammation of the joints. The global ACTEMRA Phase III clinical development program is designed to evaluate this clinical finding. The compound is not currently approved in the United States.
The most common adverse events reported in ACTEMRA global clinical studies are upper respiratory tract infections, headache, nasopharyngitis and hypertension. As with other biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), serious infections have been reported in some patients treated with ACTEMRA.