The document summarizes a study showing that the biologic drug Actemra is superior to Humira for rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving monotherapy treatment. The study found that after 24 weeks, patients receiving only Actemra showed greater improvement in reduced symptoms like joint swelling and inflammation compared to those receiving only Humira. These results provide physicians an improved treatment option for patients who cannot take methotrexate with their biological drug.

1. The biologic drug Actemra® to dramatically
increase the benefit of Rheumatoid Arthritis
monotherapy treatment
Good news for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients, as
Actemra® (TOCILIZUMAB) shows superior results in
reducing disease activity in patients when compared to
Humira® (ADALIMUMAB)
Graeser Associates International

2. Rheumatoid Arthritis patients are often treated with biological
drugs such as Actemra® or Humira®, usually combined with
methotrexate. However, due to methotrexate intolerance,
significant side effects or ineffectiveness, it is quite common to see
patients receiving biological monotherapy, i.e., a single biological
drug as the only therapy for their symptoms.

3. • From a recent study (Gabay et al., “TOCILIZUMAB (TCZ)
MONOTHERAPY IS SUPERIOR TO ADALIMUMAB (ADA)
MONOTHERAPY IN REDUCING DISEASE ACTIVITY IN
PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA): 24-WEEK
DATA FROM THE PHASE 4 ADACTA TRIAL” Ann Rheum Dis
2012;71(Suppl3):152) it is evident that patients receiving the
Actemra® drug as monotherapy have had significant improvement
in the reduction of the symptoms of the disease when compared to
patients receiving Humira® after a 24 week period of treatment.
• From the 8th week and onwards, patients treated with Actemra®
have demonstrated improvement in swollen and tender joint counts,
ESR (Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, a common measure of
inflammation) and patient global assessment, and statistical
significance was also achieved in favor of Actemra® for the general
disease remission and lower activity.

4. • The results of this research were presented at the EULAR (The
European League Against Rheumatism) conference in Berlin
in June 2012, and are considered a breakthrough which will
enable physicians to better treat monotherapy patients
suffering from polypharmacy side-effects and accordingly
provide better care for this complex disease.

5. • In our next blog posts, Graeser Associates International will be
providing you with the latest updates on biological drugs and
biosimilars.
• We will also be providing powerpoint presentations, written
reports, and short audio and video presentations through our
Slideshare channel (www.slideshare.net/biosimilars). We will
also be selling more detailed reports and longer audio and
video presentations – please see our biosimilars product page
for a list of products (www.biosimilars.me).

6. • Adv. Ariel Averbuch, RPh, is an advisor on
IP, healthcare and business strategies at
Graeser Associates International (GAI), an
international health care intellectual property
firm, and acts as Chairman at the
Pharmaceutical Society of Israel (PSI). Adv.
Averbuch has been a pharmacist for over 10
years and is also a lawyer and a patent
attorney (Israel), having extensive experience
in the pharmaceutical field. Follow Ariel
Averbuch on LinkedIn and Twitter:
@ArielAverbuch. Follow our biosimilar
communications on Twitter:
@biosimilarsGAI. Email us at
biosimilars@gai-ip.com.