Follow-Up Report: 50mg Enbrel Injection vs. Twice-a-week 25mg
Posted on: 10/02/06
SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 - A study published in the first online edition of the medical journal, Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, has found that, "Patients with AS can expect comparable significant improvement in clinical outcomes with similar safety," when using a 50mg injection once a week vs. twice-a-week 25 mg injections.
This study supports the findings of an Amgen-sponsored study that we first reported in February of 2004 (click here). However, this latest study was focused on ankylosing spondylitis patients.
The 50 mg injection of Enbrel first became available in 2004.
"Patients with AS can expect comparable significant improvement in clinical outcomes with similar safety when treated with etanercept 50 mg once weekly or 25 mg [bi-weekly]," the authors write. "No unexpected safety data [were] reported."
As a side note, the FDA has recently approved an Enbrel Autoinjector, which comes as the 50 mg dose as an option. Click here to read the press release.
References: "Once-weekly 50-mg dosing of Etanercept (Enbrel®) is as effective as 25-mg twice-weekly dosing in patients with ankylosing spondylitis." Désirée van der Heijde et al. Ann Rheum Dis. Published Online First: 12 September 2006. doi:10.1136/ard.2006.056747