Golimumab approved in Canada

I'm trying my best to step back a bit from the steady stream of news coming in about TNF-alpha blockers (i.e., biologics), because it can drown out everything else about our disease. But I have a selfish interest in the news that golimumab, which now has the trade name of Simponi, has been approved in Canada for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis; it's apparently to be used in combination with methotrexate, and, like other biologics, it's indicated for AS when conventional (i.e., affordable) therapies have failed.

Previously: Golimumab and ankylosing spondylitis.

Golimumab and ankylosing spondylitis

Golimumab: another TNF-alpha antagonist for us to keep track of (I wonder what the trade name will be). According to a press release, "More than half of patients receiving monthly subcutaneous (SC) injections of golimumab (CNTO 148) 50 mg and 100 mg experienced significant and sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of active ankylosing spondylitis, according to Phase 3 study results presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual meeting."

At some point there will be as many biologics at our disposal as there currently are NSAIDs. Not that they'll be as cheap.