Jointly Sponsored By

This activity is jointly sponsored by Medical Education Resources and Consensus Medical Communications.

Agenda

This LIVE, interactive program will include an engaging roundtable discussion among experts, covering:

• Therapeutic Decision Making in Early, Aggressive RA
• Biologic Sequencing: Strategies for Management of TNF-i Failure

Instructions for Receiving Credit

There are no fees for participating in and receiving CME credit for this activity. Participants must 1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures, 2) study the educational activity, 3) complete the post-test and evaluation form, and 4) print CME certificate.

A statement of credit will be issued only upon receipt of a completed activity evaluation form.

Please be ready to print your certificate at this time.

Target Audience

This program is designed for rheumatologists and other rheumatology-specific allied health care professionals who are involved in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Activity Description

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, debilitating autoimmune disease that may extend beyond joint erosions; patients may experience hematologic, pulmonary, cardiac, vascular, and ocular complications. To maximize outcomes with the possibility of achieving a remission, physicians must identify patients at greatest risk for disease progression and implement the best treatment strategy, or treat to target. Treatment with concomitant disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) with or without biologicals have improved the possibility of obtaining a remission. However, many patients still experience less than optimal treatment results.

As the body of investigative literature expands from results of new clinical trials, the challenge of sifting through this data, determining clinical relevance, and implementing new best practice findings is a growing challenge for physicians. This roundtable, live, interactive program with leading experts in rheumatology has been developed to provide an update on the latest advances in RA management and assist clinicians in determining when and how to modify therapy to maximize outcomes.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

• Review the molecular pathophysiology of RA in order to guide the selection of pharmacotherapy
• Evaluate emerging clinical data for biologic DMARDs, highlighting early disease, patient-related outcomes, and long-term safety and efficacy profiles
• Assess the options for management of anti-TNF cycling and for switching to an agent with a different mechanism of action

Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of Medical Education Resources (MER) and Consensus Medical Communications (CMC). MER is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation

Medical Education Resources designates this enduring material for a maximum of .75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Commercial Support

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Genentech.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Medical Education Resources ensures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational programs. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies conflicts of interest with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Conflicts are resolved by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a CME activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. MER is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME activities that promote improvements or quality in health care and not the business interest of a commercial interest.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this CME activity:

Vibeke Strand, MD (Chair), has reported being a consultant for Abbott Immunology, Alder, Amgen Corporation, Anthera, AstraZeneca, BiogenIdec, Biotest, BMS, Carbylan, CBio, CanFite, Celgene, Centocor, Chelsea, Cresendo, Cypress Biosciences Inc, Emergent Biosolutions, Eurodiagnostica, Fibrogen, Forest Laboratories, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Human Genome Sciences, Idera, Incyte, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Lexicon Genetics, Lilly, Logical Therapeutics, Lux Biosciences, Medimmune, MerckSerono, Molecular Partners, Nicox, Novartis, NovoNordisk, Nuon, Orbimed, Ono Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Regeneron, Rigel, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Savient, Schering Plough, Stryker, SKK, UCB, and Xencor. She is also on advisory boards for Abbott, Amgen, Anthera, BiogenIdec, BMS, CanFite, Centocor, Chelsea, Crescendo, Cypress, Eurodiagnostica, Fibrogen, Forest, Genentech, GSK, HGS, Idera, Incyte, Iroko, Jazz, Lilly, Millenium, Nicox, Novartis, NovoNordisk, Pfizer, Rigel, Roche, Savient, Schering Plough, Takeda, and UCB.

Philip J. Mease, MD, has reported grants/research support and consulting fees from Abbott, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Biogen Idec, Centocor, Genentech, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB. He is also on the speaker's bureau for Abbott, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Biogen Idec, Centocor, Genentech, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and UCB.

The content managers reported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this CME activity:

Bill Doutre, PharmD has no conflicts of interest to report.

Julie Johnson, PharmD has no conflicts of interest to report.

Disclaimer

The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources, Consensus Medical Communications, and/or Genentech. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of MER, CMC, and Genentech. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient's conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer's product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

The audience is advised that presentations in this continuing education activity may contain references to unlabeled or unapproved uses of drugs or devices.

MER Privacy Policy

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Contact Information for Questions About the Activity

For questions regarding CME credit, please email info@MER.org.