Hi there,
I'll do my best since all of my experience and knowledge is a by-product of my body...no medical education, only hands-on.
A biologic medication is made from living cells, like some vaccines. That is it in a nutshell, but it has many variations. It is powerful. It has side effects..what doesn't? It can result in very positive outcomes. I have Giant Cell Arteritis and take prednisone and, Actemra, tocilizumab. In various TV advertisements for meds like Humira, another biologic med, most of the chemical names of these drugs end with a --umab or aub. Mine comes in an Acupen or like an EpiPen; I press it against my thigh or abdomen once a week. Doesn't hurt.
Each serves a different purpose~~Actemra, acts as what they call a 'steroid sparer,' and enables people like me to take fewer steroids. When I first used it in 2019, it had only been approved a few years before.
I was initially put on 125mg of prednisone. I'd lost sight in my left eye, and they wanted to quiet the disease and save my right eye..they did. After a few months, I went to 80mg and Actemra weekly and now 3mg.
The potential side effects were worth the risk, and I never experienced any. My rheumatologist plans to keep me on the Actemra; he says it is the 'workhorse' in keeping the inflammation quiet.
I sure gave you a long answer... I hope it made sense..💞