Summary of Clinical Use

This monoclonal antibody drug has been granted orphan status in the US (FDA 2012) and EU (EMA 2013) for the treatment of the rare disease, chronic non-infectious uveitis (including that associated with Behçet’s disease).

Mechanism Of Action and Pharmacodynamic Effects

This monoclonal antibody binds to IL1β. However, it has been reported that this interaction does not completely abolish the ability of the cytokine to bind at its various sites of action, but rather reduces its affinity for binding sites, meaning that homeostatic activity is retained whilst pathologic activity is attenuated [6]. This therefore represents a new mechanistic class of therapeutic antibodies, with modulatory action rather than antagonistic action. This antibody has therapeutic potential to treat many inflammatory conditions where IL1β is a contributory factor, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease [2,5-6].