1735 - 1835 GMT+9
Monday 30 August
Evening Symposium 6
The role of targeted therapies against interleukin-6 receptor in rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is developed and maintained by complicated network communications of various immune cells mediated by cytokines. Among those cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6 plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of RA. We have reported that IL-6 is a useful biomarker of RA disease activity while tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a prognostic marker of RA. Further, we have speculated the difference between anti-IL-6 (ligand) antibody and anti-IL-6 receptor antibody from the viewpoint of variations in their molecular expression levels among patients with RA. Sarilumab, the first fully-human and high-affinity anti-IL-6 receptor biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), has demonstrated considerable efficacy in domestic and global clinical trials irrespective of the patient characteristics such as a concomitant use of conventional synthetic DMARDs or a prior use of anti-TNF and other biological DMARDs. The safety profiles of sarilumab are comparable to those of tocilizumab, a humanized anti-IL-6 receptor biological DMARD developed in Japan, without any novel concerns. We should take care of the development of infectious diseases during the treatment with sarilumab, although it is not associated with neutropenia. In this seminar, the clinical positioning and future perspectives of IL-6 receptor blockade will be discussed with introducing the results from our recent translational researches and several clinical trials.
Chair: Prof Akio Morinobu, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan

The role of targeted therapies against interleukin-6 receptor in rheumatoid arthritis
Prof Hideto Kameda
Toho University, Japan