Six people taking ‘miracle cure’ arthritis drug die

SIX people taking a drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis have died in Ireland, according to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).

The drug, Humira, hailed by doctors as a miracle cure, was behind “six adverse reaction reports in Ireland that resulted in a fatal outcome in patients treated with Humira”, the IMB said.

However, the regulator for prescribed drugs warned the deaths could have been the result of “underlying infections” and not directly attributable to the drug. Yesterday a spokesperson for the IMB said the drug is prescribed “under very specialised conditions to treat a very serious illness”.

According to a report in a Sunday newspaper, the average age of the six patients involved was 63, five of whom were receiving treatment for other diseases when they died. The deaths occurred since the drug was licensed in 2003.

Abbott Laboratories, Humira’s manufacturer, said research on more than 13,000 patients has shown the risks to be low, but it is understood the European Medicines Agency, (EMEA) which licenses the drug for sale in the EU, has changed the official classification of the drug’s characteristics to include a reference to the threat of death.

Humira was licensed for use in the EU in 2003. Dispensed in self-administered injections, it costs €1,200 per dose, required every two weeks. According to yesterday’s report, Michael Kelly, the first consultant in Ireland to prescribe the medicine in 2003, described it as an “amazing drug”.

“It’s one of the few drugs that has revolutionised the lives of patients with rheumatoid and psoriasis arthritis. I’ve seen people aged 40 who were finished and were back in work in a week. The story of Humira is the story of a miracle and I’m one of the greatest cynics when it comes to drugs,” Dr Kelly is reported as saying.