Overview of the use of the anti-TNF agent infliximab in chronic inflammatory diseases

Abstract

Anti-inflammatory therapy with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α has emerged as a major advancement in the treatment of various immune mediated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease. TNF-α seems to play a major pathogenic role in these chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Infliximab (Remicade®, Centocor, Inc., Malvern, PA, USA), a chimaeric mAb, binds to soluble and membrane bound TNF-α, but not to TNF-β. Infliximab is able to effectively regulate and mediate inflammatory processes involved in a number of different disease states. Many clinical trials in these diseases have demonstrated that biological therapy with mAbs directed against TNF-α is effective and relatively safe.