LONDON (Reuters) - The experimental drug Cimzia significantly reduces structural damage to joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to new data presented on Wednesday.
The findings, released at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in Boston, also suggest a high dose of 400 milligrams of the injectable biotech drug given fortnightly may provide some degree of joint repair.
Cimzia is Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB's biggest new drug hope. It is being developed first as a treatment for Crohn's disease, a serious bowel disorder, but UCB also plans to file it as a therapy for arthritis by the end of 2007.
Analysis from the so-called RAPID 1 and 2 clinical trials showed Cimzia plus the older drug methotrexate was more effective than methotrexate alone in inhibiting the progression of structural joint damage for up to one year.
Lead investigator Edward Keystone, from the University of Toronto, said in a statement the data suggested Cimzia had the potential to become an important treatment option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
In practice, industry analysts believe the product faces an uphill fight to win share because it is a late entrant into the market for drugs that block an inflammatory protein called tumour necrosis factor, or TNF.
The first of the TNF blockers were launched nearly 10 years ago and Cimzia will be fourth to market -- behind Amgen Inc's Enbrel, Johnson & Johnson's Remicade and Abbott Laboratories Inc's Humira.
