Actemra

Drug Overview

Actemra (tocilizumab; Roche/Chugai), known as RoActemra in Europe, is a first-in-class humanized interleukin-6 receptor monoclonal antibody. Intravenous Actemra was first approved for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Japan in April 2008. This was followed by EU and US approvals in January 2009 and January 2010, respectively. In October 2013, a new subcutaneous (SC) formulation of Actemra received US Food and Drug Administration approval for use in RA. In the EU and Japan, the SC formulation was approved in April 2014 and March 2013, respectively. In September 2014, Actemra received EU approval for use in patients with early RA.

Analyst Outlook

Actemra (tocilizumab; Roche/Chugai) has not been able to penetrate the first-line biologic setting in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), even though it is approved for use in inadequate responders to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Rheumatologists indicate that they typically use a non-anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) biologic after the failure of two anti-TNFs. While the approval of Actemra’s subcutaneous (SC) formulation has led to an overall higher use of the brand, Datamonitor Healthcare expects Actemra to continue being used in late lines of therapy due to the extensive experience rheumatologists have with anti-TNFs and the trust they place in well-established brands such as Enbrel (etanercept; Amgen/Pfizer/Takeda/GlaxoSmithKline) and Humira (adalimumab; AbbVie/Eisai).