Humira (Abbott) and other tumour necrosis factor-antagonists are not linked to increased serious infection rate

A new study shows that treatment of autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Psoriasis with tumour necrosis factor-a antagonists (TNF-a antagonists), including Humira (adalimumab), from Abbott, is not linked to an increased risk of hospitalisation with serious infections, in comparison to using nonbiologic medications. This is important since a number of studies have reported serious infections in users of TNF-a antagonists. In a study appearing in JAMA, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study within the SABER project, a US collaborative trial that ran from 1998 to 2007 of patients suffering from autoimmune diseases including RA. The primary outcome the researchers measured was infections requiring hospitalisation during the first 12 months after initiation of treatment with TNF-a antagonists or nonbiologic regimens. Analyses of results indicated that serious infection rates were not significantly different between the TNF-a antagonists overall and nonbiologic regimens for RA, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, or Ankylosing Spondylitis, though among patients with RA, the medication Remicade ( infliximab) was associated with a significant increase in serious infections compared with the drugs Enbrel (etanercept) and Humira (adalimumab). See: "Initiation of Tumor Necrosis Factor-a Antagonists and the Risk of Hospitalization for Infection in Patients With Autoimmune Diseases" by Carlos G. Grijalva et al. JAMA Published online November 6, 2011 doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1692