Bristol-Myers Squibb drug ‘effective in juvenile arthritis’

Use of Orenciaa (abatacept) – a drug developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb currently undergoing clinical trials – results in improvements in children and young adults with active cases of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), it has been reported.

Orencia is a selective modulator of a co-stimulatory signal needed for complete T-cell activation that is indicated for reducing the symptoms, slowing the rate of damage and improving physical ability for patients with rheumatoid arthritis exhibiting a deficient response to methotrexat, TNF antagonists or other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

At the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, it was also announced that children receiving Orencia in the six-month double-blind trial had no serious adverse event during that time or stopped using the drug as a result of an adverse event.

Edward H Giannini, professor of pediatrics, division of rheumatology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, said: “In this trial of children with active JIA, approximately 53 per cent of participants withdrawn from Orencia treatment and given placebo experienced disease flares compared to 20 per cent of participants continuing to receive Orencia.”

Possible side effects of Orencia listed by the company include serious infections as a result of a diminished immune system, usually mild allergic reactions to the drug and rare cases of malignancies, though the function of Orencia in such situations is unknown.