Therapeutic interchange is the practice of switching or dispensing drugs that are chemically distinct but therapeutically similar in terms of their efficacy, safety, and tolerability profiles. The stated goal of therapeutic interchange is to achieve an improved or neutral outcome with the new agent while reducing overall treatment costs. Until recently, most interchange programs have been limit...

Medicinal chemistry is an interdisciplinary science at the intersection of organic chemistry, biochemistry (bioorganic chemistry), computational chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, molecular biology, and physical chemistry. This branch of chemistry is involved with the identifi cation, design, synthesis, and development of new drugs that are safe and suitable for therapeutic use in humans a...

The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a deep transformation from small molecule drugs to biologics. Over the last decade, the percentage share of biologic-based drugs including vaccines, therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies -has seen a steady growth of 13.3 percent per year, compared to a 4.2 percent decrease for other drugs. Biologics now account for 55 percent of new drug approv...

The treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is largely based on multicenter pharmaceutical studies, individual patient responses, and physician experience, although consensus guidelines are lacking for patients not responsive to conventional treatment. Pharmacologic treatment is driven by the subtype of JIA and disease severity. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, disease-modifying a...

OBJECTIVE This paper will establish the rationale for developing a long-term cost model to assess the utilization and associated economics of biologic agents in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. This information should assist with defining the total cost of drug treatment when using biologic therapy to treat psoriasis. SUMMARY The development of biologic therapies has effected th...

PURPOSE Despite American College of Rheumatology recommendations, appropriate and timely initiation of biologic therapies does not always occur. This study examined openness to and preference for attributes of biologic therapies among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), differences in patients' and rheumatologists' perceptions, and discussions around biologic therapy initiation. PATIENTS...

INTRODUCTION This study aimed to describe treatment changes (discontinuation, switching, and therapy add-on) following the initiation of biologic or nonbiologic oral disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. METHODS Adult patients with ≥2 PsA diagnoses from physician office visits, initiated on a biologic or nonbiologic oral DMARD, were selected fro...

OBJECTIVE To compare discontinuation rates of first and second biologics in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by tumour-necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) status and identify predictors and reasons for discontinuation. METHODS From 1998 to 2011, self-reported medication use for RA was assessed every 6 months via questionnaire in a longitudinal study in the USA. Time-on-drug analyses were conducted for ...

• Interleukin (IL)-23 and IL-17 play an important role in the development of psoriasis. • Many of the new biologic drugs targeting IL-23 and IL-17 have been shown to be both safe and effective in treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Long-term safety data still need to be established. • These drugs are more selective with inhibition of " downstream " targets in the immunopathogenesis of...

In the article, the literature on the effects of TNFα-antagonists (etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab) on the immune system is reviewed. These biologic agents are employed in chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, seronegative spondyloarthritides, as well as psoriasis and Crohn's disease. The differences of these drugs, testified by the different effects on the immune re...