Abatacept/Methotrexate Combo Reduces Progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Presented at EULAR

By Chris Berrie

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS -- June 30, 2006 -- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a continual and increasing benefit effect when they are treated with the combination of abatacept and methotrexate (MTX), according to the open-label long-term extension of the randomised, double-blind Abatacept in Inadequate Responders to Methotrexate (AIM) study.

The findings of the (AIM-LTE) were presented here on June 23rd at the 2006 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) by principal investigator Harry Genant, MD, professor emeritus, department of radiology and medicine, University of California San Francisco, and chairman of the board of directors, Synarc, San Francisco, California, United States.

Abatacept, a selective co-stimulation modulator that targets T-cell activation, has been demonstrated to have efficacy in patients with active RA who have an inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Continue reading article ...