Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) are two chronic autoimmune diseases for which the infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 has received regulatory approval for use in all indications of the reference medication.
Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of biological infliximab versus its infliximab biosimilar administered to Libyan adult patients with RA and AS.
Methods: : This retrospective observational study was conducted on 135 patients with confirmed RA and 72 patients with AS. The patient groups were subdivided into those treated with infliximab biosimilars and reference infliximab. Comparative analyses were conducted using t-tests to assess differences in disease activity.
Results: There were no appreciable changes in the safety and efficacy of the two therapies, and both RA and AS patients treated with infliximab biosimilar or reference infliximab had significant reductions in disease activity..
Conclusion: The safety and effectiveness profiles of both the infliximab biosimilar and reference infliximab in treating RA and AS are similar, recommending the use of or switching to the less expensive biosimilar.

Keywords:Rheumatoid arthritis, Ankylosing spondylitis, Infliximab, Infliximab Biosimilar, Safety