Infliximab (Remicade®): from bench to clinical practice. A paradigm shift in rheumatology practice

Infliximab (Remicade®) is a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds tumour necrosis factor–alpha (TNF‐α) and inhibits its biologic activity. Infliximab has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of a variety of immune‐mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn's disease (CD), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), ulcerative colitis (UC), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This is a brief review of the development of infliximab primarily in RA and CD; the pathogenesis of RA and CD as applicable to TNF‐α activity; conventional therapies available for RA and CD; early clinical trials and those leading to approval for RA, CD and other indications; coadministration with methotrexate (MTX), and the safety of infliximab as a therapeutic agent for IMIDs.