Currently, only tocilizumab is approved to treat systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, said Ruperto. For canakinumab, the evaluation process is ongoing in the United States and Europe. If it's approved, he said, "It is likely that insurance companies will have to pay for it."
"Before this," said White, "we really haven't had drugs that really made that much difference whereas these clearly do... The beauty of these trials is that they're opening up opportunity to see the results of targeting new steps in the inflammatory process."
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about juvenile arthritis.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Reader Comments (