‘More and more choice in medication helps enormously’
Healthcare is under great pressure during the corona crisis. Fortunately, there are also hopeful developments for all kinds of patients. What new treatments are medical specialists looking forward to in 2022?
Bart van den Bemt is a senior pharmacist at the Sint Maartenskliniek, specializing in the treatment of posture and movement disorders, and professor of personal pharmaceutical care. What is he looking forward to in 2022?
People with rheumatoid arthritis can choose from more and more types of medicines. At the moment there are twelve. They all work differently, so it is more likely that one of the remedies will help.
The newest drugs, the so-called JAK inhibitors, are tablets. That is different from most other medications, where patients have to inject themselves weekly. “A broader treatment palette is good news,” says Van den Bemt, “because a patient is increasingly able to decide together with his doctor which drug is best for him.”
In itself it does not sound very important: taking a pill instead of injecting yourself. Nevertheless, a third of the rheumatism patients treated at Radboudumc find the method of administration more important than the fastest possible effect. “That’s according to a study we’ve done. Another third part wants to see an effect as quickly as possible. The rest doesn’t matter.”
Twelve types of drugs are now available
The new agents inhibit certain enzymes that are involved in inflammation and the immune system. These are Janus kinase 1, 2 and 3, hence the abbreviation JAK. It takes about eight to twelve weeks for them to work. The drugs have been prescribed in the Netherlands for about five years now. The latest drug, filgotinib, was launched in 2020. It was developed by the Dutch company Galapagos. JAK inhibitors are safe, but because they are relatively ‘young’, research into the long-term effects is still ongoing. Van den Bemt: “There are indications that the new drugs slightly increase the risk of thrombosis. That is why doctors are advised to be careful when prescribing JAK inhibitors to people who are at extra risk of thrombosis.”
At the moment, the newest medicines are still quite expensive: annually they cost thousands of euros more than the old ones. They usually only come into the picture when all other means do not help enough. This situation will change if the patent disappears and the manufacturer no longer has the exclusive right to develop the drug. For the first JAK inhibitor, this will be the case in about five years’ time, says Van den Bemt. “The price difference will then be a lot less.”
This article previously appeared in Plus Magazine January 2022. Want to subscribe to the magazine? You can do that in an instant!
Sources):
- Plus Magazine
