Correlations between immunogenicity, drug levels, and disease activity in an Italian cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with tocilizumab

Maurizio Benucci,1 Francesca Meacci,2 Valentina Grossi,2 Maria Infantino,2 Mariangela Manfredi,2 Emanuele Bellio,2 Valerio Bellio,2 Francesca Li Gobbi,1 Laura Bazzichi,3 Paolo Moscato,4 Dario Caputo,4 Gianantonio Saviola,5 Rossella Talotta,6 Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini,6 Fabiola Atzeni71Rheumatology Unit, Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio, Florence, Italy; 2Allergology and Immunology Laboratory, Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio, Florence, Italy; 3Rheumatology Unit, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 4Internal Medicine and Rheumatology Unit, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy; 5Rheumatology Unit, Salvatore Maugeri Foundation, Mantua, Italy; 6Rheumatology Unit, Ospedale Luigi Sacco, Milan, Italy; 7IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopedic Institute, Milan, ItalyAbstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the real-life immunogenicity of anti-drug antibodies, drug levels, and disease activity in an Italian cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with tocilizumab (TCZ). We evaluated 126 TCZ-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis (16 males and 110 females; mean age 59±12 years, range 26–83; mean disease duration 11±5 years) with inadequate 12-week response to any synthetic and biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, in a retrospective analysis. One-hundred and seven patients were treated with methotrexate mean dose 12.6±1.3 mg/week in combination with TCZ, 13 received TCZ monotherapy, and six received leflunomide 20 mg/day plus TCZ; all patients were treat...
Source: Biologics: Targets and Therapy - Category: Biochemistry Tags: Biologics: Targets and Therapy Source Type: research