Hope coming as early as next year?!

[lolo1979]

Found some interesting news as I was doing my typical AI research the other night.

Pfizer just completed Phase III trials of a new medication called tofacitinib.  I'll spare you the details of how they say it works, but the important thing is that they said it showed superior efficacy to methotrexate in the treatment of RA.

They apparently are also considering it a potential treatment for other AI diseases that they haven't studied it with yet.

The exciting news is that some analysts say it could be available in the US market as early as next year. 

Here's some articles about it:

http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120731006105/en


http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-08-02&val=337251&cat=hcare
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19431082

http://www.skinandallergynews.com/news/medical-dermatology/single-article/new-era-in-alopecia-areata-therapy-beckons/98c14e8ab4c042216fdad3afcbb3a959.html

[Gayle]

Looks hopeful! Thanks for sharing!

[artsyamerican]

Wow! This would be a dream come true for me!!!! Thank you for sharing this info!

[slccom]

I can pretty much assure you that it will NOT be available next year. The FDA's motto is, "I'm not going to approve another Thalidomide!" Stall, delay, make it available in Europe for a couple of decades, then maybe someone close to retirement might approve it.

However, soon is possible. There is a small possibility that things might be changing.

Sharon

[mshistory]

I've had too many adverse reactions to the medications I've been put on so far, so this would be a wonderful new treatment option... even though as a new drug, I probably couldn't afford it for another 15 years!!

[stephL]

Thanks for bringing us this wonderful news! 

[Skylar]

Like Mshistory, I've had my share of adverse reactions and I've taken a number of those medications that had to be later withdrawn from the market such as Vioxx.

I'm thrilled to see another potential medication on the market but I'll wait to see how effective it is and what the side effects are once large numbers of people start taking it.