are there IL-6 inhibitors other than Kevzara?

You can visit the Kevzara website and they do have a couple of programs if you qualify.

Please do your research on Tyenne - it is bio-similar to Actemra. I was recently put on Actemra and did my research to discover that as of 2026 Actemra was no longer on my drug coverage Formulary list but Tyenne is listed. It requires a pre-approval, which my doctor will need to complete. Actemra lost it's patent and the insurance companies are wanting to move patients off Actemra and onto Tyenne. It is a lot cheaper, a lot cheaper. The difference between $60,000 and $5,000. I will need to pay $2,100 of the cost then the remainder will be covered by my insurance.
You may have problems moving off the Kevzara, so look into that as well. Your body has become accustomed to one drug and now you are changing the chemicals you are putting in there. Hope this does not happen to you, but my understanding is that moving from one bio-logic to another is not as easy on your body as moving off brand drugs to generics.
Bio-similar is the bio-logic equivalent to generic drugs that we are all accustomed to using. You possibly have time to check out your insurance coverage for 2026 as well before you see your new Rheumy. I have started using my AI Engine to help me with my research, it has made the effort so much more pleasant. If you are not using an AI Engine to help you please consider it. I suspect you will like it. I wish you success in these efforts.

I asked my AI Engine which bio-logics are IL-6 Inhibitors and this is the response I received within 5 seconds -
1) IL‑6 Receptor (IL‑6R) Blockers
These bind the IL‑6 receptor and prevent IL‑6 from signaling.
Tocilizumab (Actemra)
Tocilizumab‑biosimilars (e.g., Tyenne)
Sarilumab (Kevzara)
Satralizumab (IL‑6R blocker used in neuromyelitis optica)

2) IL‑6 Ligand Blockers
These bind IL‑6 itself and neutralize it.
Siltuximab (Sylvant)
The remainder in this list are not FDA approved.

Then my AI Engine suggested it could do more for me -
"If you want, I can also break these down by mechanism, half‑life, biosimilar availability, or indications—whatever helps you compare them most efficiently."
Just be careful, I don't allow it to do my thinking for me is all I will say.

@jabrown0407

Purely anecdotal, but my friend who has had Psoriatic Arthritis for over 10 years now, possibly approaching 20, has been on all the biologic for it. She goes on one until it eventually stops working for her, then goes on another. Needless to say, after a few years she was depending on the development of new options for her, and it has always worked out. Some biologic work better than others for her but she always far better off on the biologic than she would be without it.

I have not heard that switching biologic itself can create problems. Will talk with my friend as the PA community surely has experience and my friend reads the journals and has a sophisticated rheumatologist. Perhaps you can add to your comment with additional information. Thanks.

@aussiedogmom I certainly do not have firsthand experience with any problems because I have never been on a bio-logic before. I have read that for some people who might be especially sensitive to chemicals they introduce to their bodies that they might not be able to transition easily if at all from one bio-logic to another.
I am chemically sensitive to oral drugs and require brand name for my blood pressure medicine. When I try generic my blood pressure will go into stroke territory and I need to be admitted to the cardiac care unit of the hospital. This has happened twice - it is well documented for me - but my drug coverage makes the brand too difficult to get so I purchase it from Canada at about 40% of the cost here and zero hassle. My allergist says I am sensitive to the compounding ingrediencies, not the drug.

@aussiedogmom

As far as I know ... you are correct.

In addition to PMR, I have a condition similar to Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). My other condition is called Reactive Arthritis. (ReA). There aren't many treatment options for ReA and Prednisone is rarely used because it is believed that ReA will go away and disappear within a year or so. That isn't necessarily true because, just like PMR, there is a relapsing type of ReA and a chronic type of ReA.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/reactive-arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354838
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ReA is associated with an eye disorder called uveitis which can cause blindness. My ophthalmologist was my de facto primary care doctor for years because of uveitis. Prednisone is used for uveitis to prevent vision loss.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/uveitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20378734
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PMR is my "primary diagnosis" which was why Actemra was tried. Actemra allowed me to taper off Prednisone. Unfortunately within weeks of being off Prednisone, I had a flare of uveitis. My ophthalmologist abruptly stopped Actemra and restarted 60 mg of Prednisone coupled with a completely different type of biologic called Humira (TNF-inhibitor).

Humira probably worked for uveitis but didn't work for PMR. Uveitis went into remission again but PMR flared up when I tapered down to 15 mg of Prednisone. There was a lot of discussion with all the doctors involved but ultimately I decided to go back on Actemra. That was all my rheumatologist wanted to know and abruptly stopped Humira and switched me back to Actemra.

When Actemra was restarted, I tapered from 15 mg of Prednisone to zero again in a matter of a few weeks.
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The reason why a biologic sometimes stops working is because the body sees it as a "foreign protein" and forms antibodies against the biologic.
https://altusbiologics.com/what-it-means-to-develop-antibodies-to-biologics/

Addendum:
Actemra wasn't abruptly stopped and Humira started. I was doing Actemra injections every two weeks at the time. My instruction was to do a Humira injection instead of an Actemra injection whenever my next Actemra injection was due. Otherwise the transition to Humira was seamless.

The idea was I couldn't have both medications in my system at the same time. Actemra had to be mostly out of my system before Humira was started.

@dadcue
You have had the most complicated PMR journey EVER! I don’t think I could have managed all that.

@dadcue
Oh yes. My friend has to taper off one before beginning the new biologic. Thanks for mentioning that.