New arthritis jab offers hope to patients who fail to respond to treatments already available on the NHS

A new painkilling injection could be available for people with arthritis as early as next spring.

The new experimental drug, Sarilumab, is currently under review by the European Medicines Agency, which authorizes new drugs in Britain and the rest of the EU and if it is given the go ahead, it could be made available on the NHS to patients who have failed to respond to current available treatments, after it was shown to help almost two thirds of patients in a trial.

This new treatment was tested in a programme involving more than 3,300 patients who had not responded to previous treatments. It was found that 61% of those taking Sarilumab who were examined after 24 weeks showed a 20% improvement in their arthritis, in combination with the existing disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), the existing anti-inflammatory drugs on the NHS. Sarilumab works when injected into the bloodstream where it attacks interleukin 6, the chemical that leads to damaging inflammation.

This new drug has been developed by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, in partnership with smaller US company Regeneron. Because the cost of Sarilumab is expected to be around £10,000 per year for each patient, it is unlikely to be offered as a routine option to NHS patients.

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