As a Result of the FDA Investigation Into TNF-Alpha Inhibitors, 30 Percent of Surveyed Rheumatologists Have Altered Their Prescription Patterns for Juvenile Idiopathic...( Twenty Percent of Surveyed MCO Pharma...),Health

Twenty Percent of Surveyed MCO Pharmacy Directors Say They Will Alter Reimbursement of TNF-alpha Inhibitors for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Pediatric Crohn's Disease, According to a New Report from Decision Resources

WALTHAM, Mass., March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that 30 percent of surveyed rheumatologists have altered their prescription patterns for juvenile idiopathic arthritis and more than 10 percent have altered their prescription patterns for adult rheumatoid arthritis in response to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) investigation into the malignancy risk associated with TNF-alpha inhibitors.

In June 2008, the FDA launched an investigation into the malignancy risk associated with TNF-alpha inhibitors in pediatric and juvenile populations being treated for autoimmune diseases. Concerns were raised when 30 cases of cancer in pediatric and juvenile patients being treated for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease were reported between 1998 and 2008.

The new Physician & Payer Forum report entitled TNF-alpha Inhibitors in Pediatric Crohn's Disease and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: How Will Physicians and Payers Balance Effective Treatments and Serious Safety Concerns? finds that, of the rheumatologists that have altered their prescription patterns for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, 71 percent say that they prescribe conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs more frequently than they had in the past. Nearly 60 percent of surveyed gastroenterologists say they have altered their prescription patterns for pediatric Crohn's disease -- of these gastroenterologists, 42 percent indicate that they restrict TNF-alpha inhibitors to patients with more severe disease. Furthermore, 45 percent of gastroenterologists say that they have altered their prescribing habits in a
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