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Kevzara and prednisone effectivness
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 18 hours ago | Replies (41)Comment receiving replies
@dadcue the molecular structure is different and built not the same, forgive my lack of understanding.
Actemra is:
C₆₄₂₈H₉₉₇₆N₁₇₂₀O₂₀₁₈S₄₂
Kevzara is structured (my guess is, composed) differently and not listed molecularly that I could find. They both may have many of the same atoms/elements in common but not precisely and may be entirely derived drugs. That’s all I can come up with. Kevzara might be a bit more secretive with regards to propriety.
They both inhibit IL-6, and both end in “umab” in their generic names.
Any help is appreciated.
Replies to "@dadcue the molecular structure is different and built not the same, forgive my lack of understanding...."
I don't know how the molecular structure compares. I only know that Actemra and Kevzara are in the same classification of medications. They are both IL-6 antagonists or IL-6 inhibitors.
Actemra was developed first and FDA approved for RA in 2009. Actemra was the first interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonist. It was derived from mouse proteins which didn't sound too good to me when I first heard that.
Kevzara was developed later and was the second IL-6 inhibitor. It was FDA approved for RA in 2017. I think Kevzara is made from human proteins.
Both Actemra and Kevzara have difficulty competing in the RA market because there are other biologics--especially TNF-inhibitors. Timing is everything when medications are developed. "The market" is also an important consideration. The RA market gets a lot of attention. The PMR/GCA market almost no attention until now. TNF-inhibitors don't seem to work well for PMR so the door was open for IL-6 inhibitors.
This is why Rinvog and Cosentyx will be interesting for people with PMR/GCA. We need more alternatives to prednisone. I'm happy prednisone isn't the "only option" anymore.
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@stonewheel This isn't exactly what you're asking about, but it's something I've been interested in since I started taking Actemra over 2 years ago. I kept seeing commercials for drugs on tv, and the drugs would have "mab" as part of their name. It made me wonder if there is a convention for the names, so I researched that.
Actemra is a version of tocilizumab, and Kevzara is a version of sarilumab. The "mab" stands for monoclonal antibodies. The "toc" and "sar" are arbitrary prefixes. The "il" means the target system for the drugs in the body is immunomodulators. I take that to mean they modify the immune system. The "u" in sarilumab means the original antibodies used for the drug came from humans. The "zu" in tocilizumab means the original antibodies were humanized from animal antibodies. For tocilizumab, the animal was a mouse.
I would provide a link, but it's pretty confusing. The naming convention has been revised several times. You can get more information by searching for naming convention for monoclonal antibodies.
This is an aside, but I think it's interesting. During the Covid epidemic in 2020 I remember hearing on the news about monoclonal antibodies being used to treat difficult cases. They were actually talking about Actemra. I didn't get diagnosed until 2024, so I didn't know anything about Actemra or monoclonal antibodies back in 2020.