Simponi, a Miracle Drug for RA

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

Doing a www.google.com search on the term

+simponi +reviews

brings up user reviews which attest to the efficacity of Simponi.

According to the reviews, Simponi can achieve dramatic improvements

in days that would take months with other drug treatments.

Simponi was approved by the FDA on April 24, 2009 for the treatment

of three types of arthritis: moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis,

active psoriatic arthritis, and active ankylosing spondylitis.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is associated with pain and swelling of

feet, ankles, hands and wrists -- not necessarily with the skin

condition psoriasis. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the name given to

reactive arthritis (ReA) when it affects the spine.

Simponi is designed to be injected monthly. It comes in the form of a

on-time-use, self-injecting syringe with a plastic case that looks

like the body of an electric toothbrush. Press the plastic case

against the top of your leg and press a button, and spring action

painlessly injects a small amount of the drug.

Simponi is a biological TNF-alpha blocker in the same drug class as

Enbrel and Remicade. These drugs decrease the body's production of

TNF-alpha, a molecular messenger whose excess production has been

linked to the inflammatory processes of RA and other rheumatic diseases.

Simponi was recommended to me this September over Enbrel and Remicade

by Dr. Franco in Riverside, CA, when other drug treatments did

not appear to work. Over the 11 years of my arthritis, I had received

four different diagnoses by four rheumatologists: rheumatoid

arthritis, pseudo-gout, polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), and most

recently, reactive arthritis. This past February, I developed pain

and swelling of my feet, ankles, hands and wrists, making me

increasing impaired.

Dr. Franco's treatment for me now combines Simponi with the AP.

I self-administered my first injection on Simponi on September 25. As

hoped for, I felt dramatically better within days. I could again walk

with a bounce, my energy was up, and my cheerfulness had returned --

like being a new person. These effects are still with me three weeks later.

Now for the negatives.

Simponi, like other TNF-alpha blocker drugs, lowers the body's

ability to fight infections. The drug carries a black box warning for

the risk of possibly fatal infections.

Simponi is also very expensive, with a list price of around $1,800

(US) per injection. For persons NOT on Medicare, the drug

manufacturer, & , offers a support program so that the

drug is virtually free to get you started. See for instance

http://www.centocoraccessone.com/centocoraccessone/pages/simponi/patientassist/i\

ntro.jsp

(URL needs to be on one line).

& 's support program does NOT apply to patients under

a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Even with a supplemental

Medicare prescription drug plan, you would be in the Medicare donut

hole with your second Simponi injection. Medicare rules for 2010

state that once you reach $2,830 in total drug costs (your co-pays

plus amounts paid by insurance), you will be in the donut hole and

you must pay the full cost of prescription drugs until your total

out-of-pocket drug costs for the year have reached $4,550.

I view of costs, I will only get one more Simponi injection this

year. I hope to take the drug monthly in 2011, when I may have a

better supplemental Medicare prescription drug plan and any payments

filling the donut hole would apply to the remaining months of the year.

A lot of information.

Sincerely, Harald

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