Golimumab biosimilar for rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Golimumab biosimilar is in development for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other chronic inflammatory diseases including ankylosing spondylitis (AS), non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-Axial SpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Arthritis is a condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint. RA is one of most common types of arthritis and is due to the body’s immune system targeting joints, which leads to pain and swelling. Spondyloarthritis, another group of inflammatory conditions, can predominantly affect the central part of the skeleton (AS and nr-Axial SpA), or peripheral skeleton (includes PsA) such as the hands and feet. In children pJIA, is a common type of arthritis affecting five or more joints. The severity and progression of these conditions varies but they can lead to joint damage, bone fractures and other complications that cause patients to become severely disabled. Another inflammatory condition which affects the bowel is UC. Characterised by bloody diarrhoea, urgency for the toilet, abdominal pain, weight loss and fatigue. Current treatment of these long-term inflammatory diseases aims to relieve symptoms, stop disease progression and help improve quality of life, and may involve therapies known as a biologics medicines made from living things); however, these are expensive.