Maraviroc in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Taken from NRAS magazine, Winter 2007

Maraviroc, a drug already used to treat AIDS, is now being investigated by Pfizer for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A study in the USA is evaluating maraviroc in people with active rheumatoid arthritis receiving methotrexate. Maraviroc is an orally active, reversible, selective antagonist of the CCR5 receptor. It is thought that the receptor is involved in the normal inflammatory process and it may contribute to the abnormal inflammatory process seen in rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, it will be determined first if there is a drug-drug interaction with methotrexate and then a dose of maraviroc will be selected to assess the safety and efficacy of maraviroc in patients on stable doses of background methotrexate.