Re: Cancer drug Rituxan combats arthritis, study shows

[Guest guest]

And the good B-cell news continues!

[ ] Cancer drug Rituxan combats arthritis, study shows

> Cancer drug Rituxan combats arthritis, study shows

> Reuters, 10.25.02, 6:32 PM ET

>

> By Deena Beasley

> LOS ANGELES(Reuters) - A drug now used to treat non-Hodgkin's

lymphoma, a

> cancer of the immune system, is also effective against rheumatoid

arthritis,

> according to researchers.

> Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease estimated to afflict

up to

> 2.6 million Americans. The disease, which can be severe and

potentially

> disabling, causes pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of function in

the

> joints. It often involvesthe joints in the shoulders, knees, hands or

feet.

> " This opens up a completely new avenue for treating rheumatoid

arthritis --

> one with the potential for putting the disease in long-term

remission, " said

> Dr. of the University College, London Centre for

> Rheumatology and lead investigator of the study being presented

Saturday at

> a meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

> The drug, called Rituxan, is a bioengineered antibody that works by

binding

> to a protein found only on the surface of normal and malignant B

cells --

> infection-fighting white blood cells. From there, it recruits the

body's

> natural defenses to attack and kill the marked cells without affecting

the

> regeneration of healthy B cells, researchers said.

> Research has shown that B-cells are abundant in inflamed arthritic

tissue

> and joints, leading the drug's developers Genentech Inc. and Idec

> Pharmaceuticals Inc. to suspect that Rituxan could play a role in

combating

> the inflammatory disease.

> " This study brings up a lot of questions about the mechanisms of the

> disease, " said Dr. Hal Barron, vice president of medical affairs at

> Genentech.

>

> DUAL THERAPY CUTS SYMPTOMS

> Mid-stage results from 122 patients in a 24-week trial show that 80

percent

> of 30 patients taking the anti-inflammatory drug methotrexate who were

also

> treated with Rituxan saw at least a 20 percent improvement in

symptoms.

> Fifty percent of those patients showed a 50 percent improvement and 23

> percent had a 70 percent improvement.

> Methotrexate alone cut symptoms by at least 50 percent in 32 percent

of the

> 31 patients in that arm of the study.

> " You can't start with patients who've never had methotrexate, so the

study

> design was a compromise, " said. " The results suggest that if

you put

> a patient on the combination from baseline you would do about 15

percent

> better. "

> The researcher said Rituxan works at least as well as another new

class of

> biotechnology drugs, known as TNF-inhibitors, used to treat rheumatoid

> arthritis.

> " The added advantage of Rituxan is that it is given in two IV

(intravenous)

> infusions two weeks apart and that can set the patient up for 15

months or

> more, " said.

> TNF-inhibitors work by blocking a protein that causes inflammation.

The

> drugs include Amgen Inc.'s Enbrel, given by injection twice a week,

and

> & 's Remicade, given intravenously every two months.

> , who said one of his patients given Rituxan has been in

remission

> for three years, said treating arthritis by attacking B cells could

induce

> months-long symptom relief that might be prolonged with adjunctive

> therapies.

> Also, because TNF-inhibitors suppress the immune system's T-cells,

raising

> the risk of serious infections like tuberculosis, Rituxan may be

safer, he

> said.

> " We know enough about Rituxan to see that it is not as

immunosuppressive as

> anti-TNF drugs, " the researcher said.

>

> ONE DEATH IN TRIAL

> There are, however, questions about whether Rituxan raises the risk of

chest

> infections in arthritis patients. He said one Rituxan patient in the

trial

> died, although the death was found to be unrelated to the medication.

> " If you take away people's B cells, they are going to be less able to

fight

> infection, " he noted, adding that ideally there may be a way to one

day

> refine the treatment so that it knocks out only those B cells specific

to

> arthritis.

> also said that by his calculations, treatment with Rituxan

would

> cost $6,000 to $7,000 a year, compared with about $15,000 a year for

the

> anti-TNF drugs.

> Final results for all 161 patients in the Phase 2 arthritis trial will

be

> announced at a later date, Barron said.

> " We have shown significant biologic activity. We have to treat more

patients

> and gather more data, " he added.

> Genentech, Idec and Roche Holdings AG have said they will consider

launching

> a pivotal-stage trial of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis next year.

> http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2002/10/25/rtr767476.html