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Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jul 23 10:03am | Replies (12)
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@dadcue
Both kevzara and actemra are approved for RA if I remember correctly. Kevzara is approved for PMR and actemra for GCA. Both are similar in being IL-6 inhibitors. Kevzara was undergoing testing for GCA but the testing was cancelled because of covid and that seems to be the reason why it's not approved for GCA. Actemra is prescribed over kevzara for PMR when GCA is also involved. It seems that RA, PMR and GCA are all relevant to this conversation because of the Rx.
Replies to "@dadcue Both kevzara and actemra are approved for RA if I remember correctly. Kevzara is approved..."
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@kjoed53
Yes ... Actemra and Kevzara were both originally FDA approved for RA. However, IL-6 inhibitors probably aren't used as often as other classes of biologics to treat RA.
" IL-6 blockers historically have not been used as first-line treatments for RA (because they were developed later). They’re usually tried after other treatments such as methotrexate and anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs have failed to relieve symptoms and/or adequately control disease activity."
https://www.arthritis.org/news/fda-approves-new-rheumatoid-arthritis-biologic-sar
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There has been extensive amounts of research done to find alternative uses for both Actemra and Kevzara. The cost of doing the research to get FDA approval is prohibitive. Being the "first" to get FDA approval for a diagnosis has a competitive advantage. Even though a biologic doesn't have FDA approval that doesn't mean it won't work. It usually only means the research hasn't been done to know if it works or not.
Imagine the wasted time and money when a medication doesn't work for a particular diagnosis. I was involved in some research studies which were suddenly terminated because the preliminary data wasn't looking very good.