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news.Results from a phase III study have shown that patients with ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease of the spine and spinal joints, treated with Abbott's Humira had significant reductions in pain and inflammation associated with the disease.
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In October, Abbott submitted applications to the FDA and the European Medicines Agency seeking approval to market Humira as a treatment for ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The drug is already approved for the treatment of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis.
AS is categorized as a spondyloarthritis, the term for a group of closely linked rheumatic diseases that can affect the spine and joints, which can also cause inflammation of the eye, intestine and skin. In its severe form, AS can lead to fusion of the spine, causing extreme physical limitation.
“In this study, patients treated with Humira achieved statistically and clinically significant improvements in the inflammation and pain symptoms of AS, supporting its potential to battle this debilitating disease,” said Dr Desiree van der Heijde, co-lead investigator of the study and Professor of Rheumatology at the Maastricht University, Netherlands.