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News Item
A drug used to treat ankylosing spondylitis wins approval
19 May 2011
A drug used to treat ankylosing spondylitis has been provisionally approved for use in Britain.
If it passes the final consultation, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) will now allow the NHS to offer Simponi after originally rejecting it in October 2010 on cost concerns.
The drug is used to treat rheumatoid conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Made by Merck Sharp & Dohme, it was approved by the European Commission and the US Food and Drug Administration in 2009.
According to the new NICE guidelines, Simponi (the brand name of the drug golimumab) will be used as a second-line choice after other drugs have stopped working.
One of its advantages is that it is injected by the patient, just once a month. It works as a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor, or anti-TNF – blocking of the main chemicals to trigger inflammation and tissue damage.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a progressive form of spinal arthritis, which causes inflammation of the joints between the spinal bones, the spine and pelvis, and eventually causes the affected spinal bones to join together.
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