Canakinumab: a human anti-IL-1β monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes

The cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) are a group of rare inherited inflammatory diseases associated with overproduction of IL-1 beta Canakinumab developed by Novartis AG (Basel Switzerland), is an intravenously or subcutaneously administered fully human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the bioactivity of human IL-1 beta Canakinumab has promising clinical safety and pharmacokinetic properties and has demonstrated potential for the treatment of CAPS Canakinumab was recently granted EU orphan drug status for systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and early clinical trials have established that administration of canakinumab every 2 weeks is both safe and effective Subcutaneous canakinumab (approved formulation) offers some advantages over the existing IL-1 beta -blocking treatment anakinra which must be injected daily and is often not well tolerated by patients The long-term safety of all targeted anti-IL-1 therapies in CAPS remains an unanswered question owing to the relatively short clinical experience with these agents as canakinumab produces sustained IL-1 suppression vigilance is necessary to diagnose the development of adverse events especially any associated infections