Etanercept (Enbrel)
Enbrel (etanercept) is a fully human soluble TNF receptor fusion protein. TNF is a dominant cytokine in the inflammatory process of rheumatoid arthritis. Elevated levels of TNF are also found in the synovium and psoriatic plaques of patients with psoriatic arthritis and in serum and synovial tissue of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. In plaque psoriasis, infiltration by inflammatory cells, including T-cells, leads to increased TNF levels in psoriatic lesions compared with levels in uninvolved skin. Etanercept is a soluble TNF receptor that is a competitive inhibitor of TNF binding to its cell surface receptor, thereby inhibiting biological activity of TNF. This product entry refers to Enbrel, not biosimilars of etanercept