Background：Olokizumab CDP6038, a humanized monoclonal antibody mAb specific for the interleukin-6 IL-6 cytokine, is currently in development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis RA. It targets the IL-6 cytokine rather than the receptor, and selectively blocks the final assembly of the signalling complex. In Phase I healthy volunteers and IIa patients with RA on MTX clinical trials, olokizumab was well tolerated after intravenous and subcutaneous delivery with a median plasma half-life of approximately 31 days, 76% bioavailability and no apparent antidrug antibody-mediated clearance. Olokizumab also markedly reduced free IL-6 levels and suppressed C-reactive protein CRP up to 12 weeks after single-dose subcutaneous administration in patients with RA.
