Etanercept: efficacy and safety for approved indications

Introduction: Etanercept is a tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor, which is approved for the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriasis (PsO).

Areas covered: Clinical efficacy and safety data of etanercept for the approved indications are reviewed in this paper. Data were obtained from published clinical trials, registries, post-marketing data as well as information provided by Amgen.

Expert opinion: Etanercept is a generally well-tolerated treatment for the approved inflammatory diseases. The most common adverse effect of etanercept treatment is injection site reaction, which is generally self-limiting and often does not require treatment. Etanercept may be associated with an increased risk for infection, the development of malignancy, demyelinating disease and congestive heart failure. Fewer patients withdraw from etanercept due to adverse events than with other biologics. For pediatric patients, there are more data for etanercept than other biologics, and etanercept may have lower rates for the development of malignancy.