Pfizer reports good late-stage clinical results with its new rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment -- now called tofacitinib. The trial results showed the drug reduced symptoms of RA as compared to placebo at 3 and 6 months, and exhibited signifcantly greater disease remission at 6 months.
The drug from a new class of oral JAK inhibitors is considered to one of the most important in the Pfizer pipeline - particularly as Lipitor reaches its patent expiration. JAK inhibitors act by targeting intracellular signalling pathways rather than extracellular targets like other RA drugs. The drugs have great potential in treating not only RA but a range of other inflammatory conditions.
When approved, Pfizer's drug will compete with well known anti-inflammatory drugs like Abbott's Humira (slated to move into the world's top seller spot), Amgen's Enbrel and J&J's Remicade. See Fierce Biotech and Reuters.
Posted by Bruce Lehr March 4th 2011.
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