According to a study presented during the European Congress of Rheumatology, certolizumab pegol (Cimzia), prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis, would be harmless to the fetus when used during pregnancy.
A study on 16 pregnant women
For this study, Professor Xavier Mariette, from the rheumatology department of the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital and his colleagues, followed 16 pregnant women over 30 weeks who received certolizumab pegol at a maintenance dose (200 milligrams every every 2 weeks or 400 milligrams every 4 weeks) for various conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease or ankylosing spondylitis. All patients had received their last dose within 35 days of delivery.
Blood samples were taken from mothers, umbilical cords and infants during childbirth. Then in infants again at 4 and 8 weeks after delivery. The study shows no exposure in utero and no anti-certolizumab pegol antibodies were detected in mothers, umbilical cords or infants.
For Professor Mariette, these results are good news for pregnant women with active inflammatory disease. This shows that they can continue to take certolizumab pegol during pregnancy.
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