RESEARCH - New oral medication, fostamatinib (R788), shows early promise

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Novel Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Shows Early Promise

Trial patients given oral medication showed improvement in six months;

experts caution more testing needed

By Madonna Behen

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A new targeted medication for

rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may benefit patients with this chronic

autoimmune disease who aren't adequately helped by standard RA drug

therapy, researchers say.

The oral medication, known as fostamatinib or R788, is part of a new

class of drugs known as spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitors, which

work on the cellular level to block specific pathways that are

responsible for joint inflammation. The drugs are similar to the

breakthrough cancer drug Gleevec, which inhibits the growth of

malignant cells.

" Our findings highlights the fact that there are other pathways that

can be utilized in order to improve disease activity among people with

rheumatoid arthritis, " said Dr. E. Weinblatt, a professor of

medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the study,

which was published September 23 in the New England Journal of

Medicine.

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