Treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis beyond TNF-α inhibitors

Abstract

The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has changed over the last 15 years. Early and aggressive treatment, use of methotrexate as the anchor drug and combination treatment, with older disease-modifying drugs or biologics, have become the norm. TNF inhibitors were the first biologic agents available to rheumatologists and are still currently used as first-line biologics, in addition to other newer biologic agents. Abatacept, rituximab and tocilizumab are available biologics that use a different mode of action to TNF inhibitors, and can be used after a TNF inhibitor is tried. Abatacept is also currently used as a first-line biologic and others can also be used once data are available.

Keywords::

• abatacept
• biologics
• methotrexate
• rheumatoid arthritis
• rituximab
• TNF
• tocilizumab

Financial &competing interests disclosure

Yusuf Yazici has received consulting, speaker and research support from BMS, Celgene, Centocor, Genentech, Pfizer, Roche, Schering Plough and UCB. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.