Pfizer’s rheumatoid arthritis drug endorsed by new study

Pfizer has received a recommendation for the efficacy of its rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel (etanercept) in the new COMET clinical study.

The treatment has been trialled as a combination therapy with methotrexate over a two year-period in a study in order to gauge its effectiveness in achieving radiographic remission.

It was found that early-stage patients subjected to the regimen achieved remission in 90 per cent of cases, with many sufferers seeing marked reductions in the amount of joint swelling and pain they experienced.

Paul Emery, lead trial investigator and professor of rheumatology at the University of Leeds, stated that this treatment method could become the new standard for managing the condition.

He said: “The COMET study shows that early and sustained intensive therapy with etanercept can improve future outcomes for those with early rheumatoid arthritis, without posing an additional safety risk.”

Last week, Pfizer received approval from the Food and Drug Administration over Prevnar 13, its paediatric treatment for invasive pneumococcal disease.