Drug offers hope to arthritis patients

Remarkable results from trials into a new drug have given hope to thousands of Irish people who suffer from an agonising medical condition, rheumatoid arthritis.

The antibody drug, tocilizumab, was found to be almost four times more likely to halt progression of arthritis than the most widely prescribed alternative. It also achieved significantly greater reduction in disease signs and symptoms after six months.

Up to 40,000 people in Ireland have rheumatoid arthritis, a painful and disabling condition caused by the immune system attacking the joints.