Amgen publishes Enbrel research

Biotechnology therapeutic company Amgen has this week published data concerning Enbrel (etanercept), which has exhibited improvements in multiple measures of efficacy for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis who have completed nine years of therapy.

Research being presented to the American College of Rheumatology showed Enbrel to have low rates of undesirable events and infection, with observed malignancies, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, similar to that of the general population.

Enbrel, a tumour necrosis factor blocker protein, reduces signs and symptoms for patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and moderate to severe polyarticular-course juvenile arthritis.

It is also indicated for the prevention of further joint damage in patients with psoriatic arthritis, reducing the signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis and the treatment of some adult patients with chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Mark Genovese MD, Stanford University Medical Centre, said: “The current data in rheumatoid arthritis suggest that Enbrel is both effective and safe in long-term use.

“These findings are significant because they provide a degree of reassurance to both the patient and the physician that unexpected safety concerns do not appear to be developing after nine years of use.”

Nominations are currently open for Amgen’s 16th annual Science Teaching Excellence awards, aimed at recognising exceptional teaching of science in the US and Puerto Rico at the K-12 level.