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HUMIRA(R) (adalimumab) Data Show That Treating Early Rheumatoid Arthritis With Combination Treatment Resulted in Cost Savings From Improved Work Productivity

Friday, June 13, 2008 General News
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PARIS, June 13 New data announced today showedthat treating patients with early, active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) withAbbott's HUMIRA(R) (adalimumab) and methotrexate (MTX) resulted in an indirectcost savings of euro 4,845 (or approximately USD$6,086 using exchange rates atthe time of the study) per patient per year compared to MTX treatment alone.These cost savings were attributed to improved work performance, ability togain or regain employment and a reduction in the number of missed workdays. Aseparate analysis found that joint damage in the early stages of RA is apredictor of a patient's ability to gain or retain employment. These datawere presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) annualmeeting in Paris.
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"While rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive and chronic disease, patientsmay be able to continue productive work lives with the help of treatmentoptions such as adalimumab," said Ronald F. van Vollenhoven, M.D., Ph.D.,Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
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More than five million people worldwide have RA, and most of them areconsidered to be in the prime of their working lives (between 30-50 years ofage). The data are from DE032, an economic companion study to PREMIER, atwo-year, randomized, double-blind, comparator-controlled study that comparedthe effectiveness of HUMIRA and MTX to MTX alone in treating early RA. Atbaseline, a total of 433 patients with early, active RA were identified,including 235 active, paid workers. Patients were evaluated on threemeasures: number of missed days of work due to RA, degree of work performanceaffected by RA and employment status.

In a separate analysis of the same study, researchers identified that inpatients with early RA treated with HUMIRA plus MTX, baseline joint damage(assessed by joint space narrowing, joint space erosion and total sharp score,or TSS) is an independent predictor of a patient's ability to maintain or gainemployment. TSS is a measure of joint damage progression. A smaller change inTSS reflects less progression of joint damage, with a positive scoreindicating worse radiographic damage. A total of 664 patients were included inthis analysis, with average disease duration of eight months. Key findingsincluded:

About Rheumatoid Arthritis

Unlike osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, RA is a chronic,autoimmune disease characterized by joint inflammation, joint pain andstiffness, which can lead to long-term joint damage. The joints most commonlyaffected early in the disease are the smaller joints of the fingers, feet andwrists. The elbows, knees, ankles and hips can also be affected. Althoughthere is no cure for RA, people continue to seek treatments that helpalleviate pain and inflammation and slow disease progression.

More information on RA and current treatment options can be found athttp://www.RA.com.

Important Safety Information

Globally, prescribing information varies; refer to the individual countryproduct label for complete information.

Serious infections, sepsis, rare cases of tuberculosis (TB), andopportunistic infections, including fatalities, have been reported with theuse of TNF antagonists, including HUMIRA. Many of the serious infections haveoccurred in patients on concomitant immunosuppressive therapy that, inaddition to their underlying disease could predispose them to infections.Patients must be monitored closely for infections, including tuberculosis,before, during and after treatment with HUMIRA. Treatment should not beinitiated in patients with active infections until infections are controlled.HUMIRA should not be used by patients with active TB or other severeinfections such as sepsis and opportunistic infections. Patients who developnew infections while using HUMIRA should be monitored closely. HUMIRA shouldbe discontinued if a patient develops a new serious in
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