Humira nears US release for Crohn's

The Boston Globe has an update on new medication that is expected to be released to US consumers soon. Crohn's afflicted people outside the US will probably welcome this news, as it will introduce a large new population for the drugs to be tested on. It'll be interesting to see if Humira lives up to its promise of providing longer-term remission than infliximab (Remicade).

Within days, Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories expects to win federal approval to sell its drug, Humira , currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and a disease that causes arthritis of the spine, to combat the intestinal disorder.

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In clinical trials, 21 percent of patients who had stopped responding to Remicade were coaxed into remission by week four on Humira, compared with 7 percent who achieved remission on a placebo. Those results were impressive enough for the FDA to speed its handling of the drug -- trimming the review from 10 months to six months and indicating that an approval decision could come by the end of February.