Recent years have seen considerable advances in our understanding of both the clinical
and basic-research aspects of rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical progress has come from a better
recognition of the natural history of the disease, the development and validation of outcome
measures for clinical trials and, consequently, innovative trial designs. In parallel, basic
research has provided clues to the pathogenic events underlying rheumatoid arthritis, and
advances in biotechnology have facilitated the development of new classes of therapeutics …

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterised by pain, swelling, and destruction of joints, with
resultant disability. Only disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs can interfere with the
disease process. In the past few years, biological agents, especially inhibitors of tumour
necrosis factor, have allowed for hitherto unseen therapeutic benefit, although even with
these drugs the frequency and degree of responses are restricted. Therefore, new agents
are needed, and three novel biological compounds for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis have …