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Does Cosentyx treat Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Medically reviewed by Melisa Puckey, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 2, 2023.

Official Answer by Drugs.com

Rheumatoid arthritis is NOT an approved indication for Cosentyx, but some people may use it off-label, if the doctor and patient believe it may be of benefit.

Cosentyx (secukinumab) is an immunosuppressant that reduces the effects of a chemical substance in the body that can cause inflammation, it does this by binding to a protein called interleukin 17A (IL-17a.) It belongs to the group of medicines called biological DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs).

What conditions is Cosentyx an approved medicine by the FDA?
Cosentyx is FDA-approved to specifically to treat these patients:

Does Cosentyx treat rheumatoid arthritis?

Have any studies been completed on Cosentyx treating rheumatoid arthritis?

There have been a number of trials done to see how well Cosentyx works for RA. They have shown that Cosentyx does show an improvement in RA when compared to placebo, but the benefits were often not clinically significant. One of the studies was stopped when they realised that abatacept worked better than Cosentyx in RA.

NURTURE 1 clinical trial:

REASSURE clinical trial:

REASSURE2 clinical trial:

What else can be used to treat RA?

There are a number of biological DMARDs used to treat RA.

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Is Cosentyx an FDA approved medicine for RA?

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Cosentyx vs Humira: How do they compare?

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