Is Upadacitinib a targeted drug?

Upadacitinib is a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)approved second-line drug for the treatment of patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have an inadequate response to or are intolerant to the first-line drug methotrexate. The drug is a second-generation selective Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor targeting the JAK1 enzyme, also known as a targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug [tsDMARD].

In practice, upadatinib reduced proinflammatory interleukin activity from baseline, transiently increased lymphocyte levels, and significantly decreased immunoglobulin levels. Upadatinib was subsequently approved for use in other autoimmune diseases (such as psoriatic arthritis (PA), atopic dermatitis (AD), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), giant cell arteritis (GCA), systemic lupus arthritis (SLE), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC)).

The original drug Upatinib has been launched in China, and has subsequently entered the scope of Class B medical insurance. Only eligible patients can be reimbursed. Specifications The price of each box of 15mg*28 tablets may be around RMB 3,000. The European version of the original drug sold overseas is priced at more than 20,000 yuan for 15mg*30 tablets (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates), which is expensive. Cheaper upadatinib generic drugs are also sold overseas, and their pharmaceutical ingredients are basically the same as those of the original drugs sold domestically and abroad. For example, the price of 15mg*30 tablets produced by Bangladesh pharmaceutical factory is around 900 yuan (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate).