Xeljanz EU approval important for 'up to third' of rheumatoid arthritis patients

US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has received marketing authorization from the European Commission for its Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) 5mg twice daily oral tablets in combination with methotrexate (MTX) for moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults who have responded inadequately to, or who are intolerant to, one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

Xeljanz, which can be given as monotherapy in case of intolerance to MTX or when treatment with MTX is inappropriate, belongs to a new class of therapies called janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors and was the first such drug to be licensed in the USA for RA.

Ronald van Vollenhoven, director of the Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center, said: “With the approval of tofacitinib, rheumatologists and patients in the European Union now have an additional treatment option for the management of RA that can be taken with or without methotrexate.