RA Treatment Options
Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments: What Are Your Options?

Rheumatologists often prescribe different types of RA therapies to find the right treatment for their patients. These can include:

  • Treatments like physical therapy that don’t include medicines
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
  • Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate
  • Steroids
  • Biologics

What are biologics?

Biologics, a type of DMARD, are a class of RA treatments designed to target your immune system. In some patients, biologics can not only reduce the pain and symptoms of RA, but they can also slow or limit the damage caused by the disease. Biologics include Enbrel® (etanercept), Remicade® (infliximab), Humira® (adalimumab), Orencia® (abatacept), Rituxan® (rituximab)*, and ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab).

Biologics: Anti-TNFs

Some biologics target the messenger cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF), including Enbrel® (etanercept), Humira® (adalimumab), Remicade® (infliximab), Simponi® (golimumab), and Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol).

Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol), Enbrel® (etanercept), Humira® (adalimumab), Orencia® (abatacept), Rituxan® (rituximab)*, Remicade® (infliximab), Simponi® (golimumab), Rheumatrex® (methotrexate), Arava® (leflunomide), and Plaquenil® (hydroxchloroquine) are the property of their respective owners.

A Different Type of Biologic

ACTEMRA works differently. That's because ACTEMRA is the first and only RA treatment to directly block the action of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a protein in your body believed to play an important role in RA. To see the unique process of how ACTEMRA works, watch the video below.

*HOW RITUXAN® (rituximab) IS USED IN RA: Rituxan is a prescription medicine used in adults with another medicine called methotrexate to reduce the signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after at least one other medicine called a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist has been used and did not work well enough. People with serious infections should not receive Rituxan.

IMPORTANT SIDE EFFECT INFORMATION: Rituxan can cause serious side effects, some of which could be life threatening. These include progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), severe infusion reactions, tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), and severe skin and mouth reactions. For more information, please see Rituxan.com for full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide.  Learn more »

Rick,
taking ACTEMRA
since 2010
ACTiV’s RA Forum

Watch RA expert Dr Anne Winkler give answers to common RA questions, and hear from people who are taking ACTEMRA.

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Is there an RA treatment that works without methotrexate or other DMARDs?
Methotrexate is a type of disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), and it works well for some people with RA. But if you are unable to take methotrexate or other DMARDs, you may be able to treat your RA symptoms with ACTEMRA. That’s because ACTEMRA has been proven to work with or without methotrexate or other DMARDs.
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SAFETY FIRST
Before reading more, please see the Important Side Effect Information for ACTEMRA.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are usually available over the counter or by prescription. Examples of NSAIDs are aspirin and ibuprofen. NSAIDs help to relieve pain and reduce inflammation, but drugs in this category do not slow the progression of RA.
Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, or DMARDs, may slow or limit the progression of RA in some patients, saving joints and other tissues from permanent damage.
Steroids, including cortisone and prednisone, are a type of medicine used temporarily to reduce inflammation.
Interleukin-6, or IL-6, is a type of cytokine in the body with a wide variety of biological functions. People with RA may have more IL-6 in the areas surrounding the joints than any other cytokine.