In practice: Anti-TNF biosimilars in rheumatic disease

Episode 3: Reaping the rewards of early intervention

Professor Andra Balanescu joins Professor Peter Taylor to discuss the lasting benefits associated with timely intervention using efficacious medications, and the role of biosimilars, in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Meet the experts

Professor Peter Taylor

Professor Peter Taylor holds the Norman Collison Chair of Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford, UK, and is a Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford. He is the Director of Experimental Rheumatology at the Botnar Research Centre within the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences. He is also Chief Medical Advisor to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, a patient-led charity that works to support people with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile inflammatory arthritis.

Professor Taylor has over 30 years of experience in clinical trial design and international leadership in studies of biologic and small molecular therapies in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, including the earliest seminal trails of anti-TNF and anti-interleukin-6 receptor therapy.

Disclosures

Professor Taylor has received research grants from Celgene and Galapagos, and consultation fees from AbbVie, Biogen, Fresenius Kabi, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Lilly, Nordic Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, and UCB.

Professor Andra Balanescu

Professor Andra Balanescu is Professor of Rheumatology and Internal Medicine, and head of the department of internal medicine and rheumatology at Sf. Maria Hospital, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Bucharest, Romania.

Her research interests are focused on rheumatoid arthritis (immunohistochemistry of synovial tissue, dendritic cell involvement, biomarkers, treatment), psoriatic arthritis (patient-reported outcomes, pathogenesis, treatment), inflammatory osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. 

Disclosures

Professor Balanescu has received speaker fees and consultancies from AbbVie, Alphasigma, Amgen, Angelini Pharma, AstraZeneca, Berlin Chemie, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Teva, UCB, and Zentiva.

She has been an investigator in clinical trials sponsored by Akros, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, MSD, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Sanofi, and UCB.