Novel oral therapy renews hope for arthritis patients

The biopharmaceutical company hopes that women in particular will seek treatments earlier if they have the choice of an oral drug that is less arduous to use than currently available treatments. Early treatment is important because if left managed, the condition destroys joints eventually causing permanent disability. Early intervention is central to the treatment of women, for whom early onset is common.

The potential therapy known as CH-1504 may have a much better safety profile than other treatments because it is not metabolized nor is toxic to the kidney and liver, such as in the case methotrexate, the most widely prescribed RA treatment.

Current treatment options for RA include over-the-counter oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other pain relievers; oral steroids; but the gold standard for treatment is still methotrexate, a drug that been used for nearly 30 years. Newly available compounds known as biologic response modifiers, such as etanercept and infliximab are used when the disease progresses (mostly in combination with methotrexate) but have to be injected and are very expensive.

While methotrexate is often effective, long-term chronic doses of the drug can be toxic to the liver, kidneys and other organs. Short-term tolerability issues such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea also often limit its use.

“Given the problems that many patients have tolerating methotrexate along with its long-term safety concerns, a drug candidate that is proven to be as effective or more effective than with fewer side effects would be a major breakthrough in the treatment of RA. This may prompt patients to treat their condition earlier and continue treatment longer,” says Dr Pedder, CEO of Chelsea Therapeutics.