From bench to bedside - is there a role of IL-17 drugs in rheumatoid arthritis?

The trials that have studied IL-17 inhibitors in RA patients have only shown a modest improvement in disease activity. In several trials, the primary endpoint was not achieved whilst in others, when comparing with existing licensed biologics for RA, did not demonstrate any superiority.Tissue Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) likely plays more of a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of RA with IL-17 having a synergistic effect. Therefore, in our opinion, IL-17 inhibitors as an independent therapy for RA are less likely to provide a cost-effective benefit. There may be scope to potentially combine it with TNF-α-inhibitors (TNF-i), but this requires further research especially with the potential concerns related to increased immunosuppression.