Side-Effects from Biologics in the Therapy of Rheumatic Diseases

Biologics refers to a relatively new class of therapies for rheumatic conditions. This category includes agents such as monoclonal antibodies (mabs) against T cells, cytokines or adhesion molecules, soluble forms of cytokine receptor (e.g. soluble TNFα receptor or soluble IL-1 receptors) and recombinant forms of naturally occurring cytokine antagonists (e.g. IL-1 receptor antagonists). These agents are produced by recombinant DNA technology, and purified from the culture medium of cells expressing the appropriate gene; hence the term biologics.