Tocilizumab — IL‐6 inhibition for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Affecting approximately 400 000 people in England and Wales,¹ rheumatoid arthritis (RA) creates a considerable economic burden. NICE estimates that five years after diagnosis, 40% of RA patients will be incapable of work.¹ Some treatment options for RA look to control inflammation in order to rein in the disease. Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) invokes inflammation via TNF‐α, although the reason for this is unknown. Some researchers are beginning to turn their attention to IL‐6 in their search for novel RA treatments, and believe that drugs inhibiting this inflammatory cytokine could halt disease progression. In this article, we consider tocilizumab, an IL‐6 inhibitor. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.