Adalimumab: A Review in Non-Infectious Non-Anterior Uveitis

Adalimumab (Humira^®) is a tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitor available in various countries worldwide, including the USA, Japan and those of the EU, for the treatment of non-infectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitis in adults. It is the first biological agent approved for this indication. In two multinational, phase III studies in adults with active and inactive disease, subcutaneous adalimumab significantly reduced the risk of treatment failure relative to placebo following the tapered withdrawal of corticosteroid therapy. Significant differences favouring adalimumab over placebo were seen for each component of treatment failure (vitreous haze, new active inflammatory lesions, anterior chamber cell grade and a worsening of best-corrected visual acuity) in patients with active disease and for the visual acuity component in patients with inactive disease. Adalimumab was also significantly more effective than placebo in improving multiple aspects of uveitic inflammation in patients with active, but not in those with inactive, disease. Adalimumab was generally well tolerated in these patient populations. Its tolerability profile was consistent with the known tolerability profile of the agent in other indications and no new safety signals were identified. Moreover, the incidence of anti-adalimumab antibodies was low. Thus, adalimumab is an effective and generally well tolerated treatment option in adults with non-infectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitis, including those who cannot be treated with corticosteroids.