User:Mr. Ibrahem/Infliximab

Infliximab, sold under the brand name Remicade among others, is a medication used to treat a number of autoimmune diseases including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Behçet's disease. It may be used together with methotrexate. It is given by slow injection into a vein over at least 2 hours, with doses at six- to eight-week intervals.

Common side effects include infections, acute infusion reactions, liver problems, and abdominal pain. Other side effects may include cancer, reactivation of hepatitis B, worsening heart failure, and a lupus like condition. It is unclear if use during pregnancy is safe. Use during breastfeeding is likely safe for the baby. Infliximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody and biologic agent. It seems to work by binding to and neutralizing TNF-α, preventing it from interacting with its receptors on the cell.

Infliximab was approved for medical use in the United States in 1998, and the European Union in August 1999. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines as an alternative to adalimumab. Biosimilars were approved in the EU in 2013, Japan in 2014, and the United States in 2016. In the United Kingdom it costs about 377 pounds per 100 mg as of 2020. In the United States this amount costs about 500 USD as of 2020 for a biosimilar. In Canada the biosimilar is nearly half the price.