Cath Lab Digest

Actemra (tocilizumab) is an interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitor used to treat adults with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not adequately responded to or cannot tolerate other approved drug classes for treating rheumatoid arthritis. The drug is a humanized monoclonal antibody that works by blocking the action of IL-6, an immune system protein that is overabundant in people with RA.
Tocilizumab is approved for once-a-month intravenous (IV) administration in physicians’ offices, hospitals, and infusion centers, and may be used alone or in combination with methotrexate or other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

The recommended starting dose for tocilizumab is 4 mg/kg when used in combination with DMARDs or as a monotherapy in patients who have had an inadequate response to ≥1 tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists; the dose may then be increased to 8 mg/kg based on clinical response.

The recommended use of tocilizumab is limited to patients who have failed other approved therapies because of serious safety concerns that were noted in clinical studies. These safety concerns include elevated liver enzymes, elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), hypertension, and gastrointestinal perforations.