Etanercept Eased AS Symptoms in ESTHER : Growing experience with biologics provides data on how to predict response in ankylosing spondylitis.

However, while the response rate was significantly higher than with placebo, the relative change in BASDAI50 was relatively modest and not of the same magnitude typically seen with anti-TNF drugs, he said.

“So I think the jury is still out on the anti-IL17,” he concluded.

Dr. Inman disclosed that he is a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, Merck, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis.

A patient who has failed an anti-TNF is unlikely to respond to rituximab, despite its mechanism of action.

Source DR. INMAN