New insights and long-term safety of tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is a leading musculoskeletal cause of disability in Western society. Therapeutic options have expanded rapidly with the advent of biological agents as treatment options. One of these, tocilizumab, targets the interleukin-6 receptor and has been approved since the late 2000s in many jurisdictions. This approval was based on 6-12 month trials. It is now appropriate to look at longer-term studies and what new insights they have provided into this agent. Data are based largely on observational studies with their well-known limitations as well as some further randomized trials and provide a number of important observations regarding both efficacy and safety. In conclusion, the longer-term data suggest tocilizumab efficacy increases over time for both signs and symptoms and radiographic change. It is also corticosteroid sparing. The safety data are consistent with the shorter-term trials and are largely reassuring but some questions still remain over cardiovascular safety and cancer risk.

Keywords: cohort; database; long term; rheumatoid; tocilizumab; trials.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: GJ’s salary is provided by the National Health and Medical Research Council. He was chief investigator on the AMBITION trial and has served as an adviser and speaker for Roche.