Binding immunoglobulin protein therapy could be future treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

A new approach called binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) therapy may have the potential to treat people with rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), says a small study in Rheumatology.

A total of 24 people with active rheumatoid arthritis who had not responded to treatment with one or more DMARDs were split into groups. One group received placebo and the others received differing doses of BiP. The volunteers then had 12 weeks of clinical, rheumatological and lab assessments.

People who were given 5mg and 15mg doses of BiP experienced signs of remission and lower concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers in their blood.

There were no serious negative reactions, suggesting that BiP could be safe and effective for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

“BiP is safe in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis; some patients had clinical and biological improvements in rheumatoid arthritis activity,” the team reports. “BiP merits further study.”

Natalie Carter, head of research liaison and evaluation at Arthritis Research UK comments:

“The results of this study are really promising. This research is at a relatively early stage, and studies would need to carried out on a larger scale to ensure this is a safe and effective treatment for people with arthritis, but this is an exciting piece of research that could lead to an alternative treatment that may induce remission and have less side effects.”

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