Pfizer Inc. announced that 26 new scientific abstracts, including 20 presentations for XELJANZ® (tofacitinib
citrate) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) will be presented on behalf of
Pfizer at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/Association of
Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) 2015 Annual Meeting.
XELJANZ (tofacitinib citrate) is a prescription medicine called a Janus kinase (JAK) Inhibitor. XELJANZ
is the first and only JAK inhibitor approved in over 40 countries
around the world for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) as a second-line therapy after failure of one or more
disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The benefit:risk profile
of XELJANZ in RA has been studied in approximately 6,200 patients with
more than 19,000 patient-years of drug exposure in the global clinical
development program for XELJANZ in moderate to severe RA. A new drug
application (NDA) for XELJANZ 11 mg once-daily modified release for the
treatment of moderate to severe RA is under review with the U.S. Food
& Drug Administration (FDA). In the United States, XELJANZ has a
boxed warning for serious infections and malignancies.
Pfizer
is committed to advancing the science of JAK inhibition and enhancing
understanding of XELJANZ through a robust clinical development program
in a range of immune-mediated inflammatory conditions.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease
that causes a range of symptoms, including stiffness and swelling in the
joints, particularly those in the hands, feet and knees. Although the exact cause of RA is unknown, it
is considered to be an autoimmune disease, because the immune system in
people with RA mistakes the body’s healthy tissues as a threat and
attacks them. Some people are at increased risk of developing RA, including people with a family history of RA, smokers and women. Three times as many women are affected by RA compared to men. RA affects an estimated 17.5 million people worldwide. It can develop at any time during adulthood, but it usually occurs between 40 and 70 years of age.
