Tocilizumab

Tocilizumab, sold under the brand name Actemra among others, is an immunosuppressive drug, used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, giant cell arteritis, cytokine release syndrome, COVID‑19, and systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). It is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody of the immunoglobulin IgG1 subclass against the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R). Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that plays an important role in immune response and is implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, multiple myeloma and prostate cancer. Tocilizumab was jointly developed by Osaka University and Chugai, and was licensed in 2003 by Hoffmann-La Roche. Tocilizumab was approved for medical use in the European Union in January 2009, and in the United States in January 2010.