Dr. Ernest Choy, FRCP, head of Rheumatology at Cardiff University’s Institute of Infection and Immunity, will lead two webinars examining how the biologic effects of combination treatments can be investigated using an in vitro phenotypic profiling platform — with combination treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) being used as an illustrative example. The live webinars take place on Wednesday, May 18, at 10 a.m. EDT and at 1 p.m. EDT.
Current standard of care for rheumatoid arthritis, the most common chronic inflammatory arthritis, is to maintain disease remission or reduced disease activity by suppressing inflammation.
This is not always achieved through single treatment therapies, known as disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or DMARDs, and combo DMARD treatments are often necessary, according to a press release. But combination treatments frequently mirror physician preferences rather than scientific rationale, with the exception of methotrexate. Methotrexate, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an RA treatment in 1988, has been shown to reduce immunogenicity of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors, particularly infliximab and adalimumab (ADA).
According to the release, the webinars will offer:
- A discussion on the utilization of the BioMAP phenotypic profiling platform (by Discover X) for research into the pharmacodynamic interactions of methotrexate and adalimumab versus tocilizumab treatments for RA.
- A discussion of results suggesting that a systematic assessment of potential pharmacodynamic interactions can inform on addition or synergistic combination therapy in RA-like conditions.
- A presentation on a promising approach to investigate combo treatments in vitro, while obtaining further insight into in vitro treatment behavior to improve patient outcomes.
Both live broadcasts will have a Q&A session with the audience, according to their host, Xtalks, a provider of educational webinars on life sciences. Registration is available through the Xtalks website via this link.
RA affects 0.5 percent of the world’s population. Its chronic inflammation often leads to destruction of cartilage and bone, causing joint deformity and physical disability.
