Early use of Enbrel® (etanercept) in

RA boosts quality of life and cuts absenteeism

Taken from NRAS magazine, Autumn 2008

Half of rheumatoid arthritis patients who receive Wyeth's Enbrel (etanercept) in combination with methotrexate enjoy an improved quality of life and miss fewer work days as their disease goes into remission, researchers have found.

"Clinical remission is the goal so these people can get back to their lives and work," said Professor Robert Moots, the head of the division of infection and immunity at the University of Liverpool.

"The key is to catch the disease early before it develops and the inflamed joints get irreparably damaged," he said. Citing data from a study sponsored by Wyeth known as COMET (Combination of Methotrexate and Etanercept in Active Early Rheumatoid Arthritis), Professor Moots said that 28% of patients with active early rheumatoid arthritis who were treated with methotrexate alone achieved clinical remission in one year.

In contrast, 50% of patients treated with methotrexate plus Enbrel achieved clinical remission over the same time period. ”Rheumatoid arthritis patients suffer anxiety and depression and these conditions, compounded with pain and inflammation, cause them to take off an increased number of sick days compared to their healthy co-workers”, Professor Moots said.

According to research, 66% of people with RA lose an average of 39 work days a year and in monetary terms this equates to a mean productivity loss per person of £5,774 euros for women and £6,754 for men.

Data from the COMET study indicate that patients receiving Enbrel and methotrexate missed fewer work days. Patients who were in employment at the beginning of the COMET trial and were treated with Enbrel and methotrexate showed a three-fold decrease in the number of work days missed in a year compared to patients treated with methotrexate alone.

Additional data showed that 55% of patients treated with the combination achieved normal disability rates using the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) compared to 39% of patients receiving only methotrexate.

Aslam Anis, a professor of health economics at the University of British Colombia said that governments look at direct costs such as prices when considering whether to approve drugs for inflammatory diseases but do not take into account indirect costs such as loss of productivity in the workplace from those who are ill.