Wedel (26. July 2017). Medac Gesellschaft für klinische Spezialpräparate mbH has announced that methotrexate has been approved for treatment of Crohn’s disease with immediate effect in a pre-filled pen, the metoject®/metex®PEN 50 mg/ml solution for injection. The auto-injector makes it easier to administer subcutaneous methotrexate (MTX), the use of which is established in rheumatological and dermatological treatment, and thus helps to ensure patient compliance.
Apart from the auto-injector, Medac provides a pre-filled syringe with MTX (i.e. metoject®/metex®) an as well patient-oriented pharmaceutical form that is approved for gastroenterology treatment.
The methotrexate auto-injector satisfies patients’ needs
Based on the treatment recommendation in European guidelines of 25 mg parenteral methotrexate per week initially, followed by 15 mg per week in the long term, the use of subcutaneous MTX in a pre-filled syringe and pre-filled pen is particularly suitable. Moreover, in patients with rheumatism, both the high concentration of the active substance (50 mg/ml) in the Medac preparations and the handling with the Medac auto-injector have proven superior.
Methotrexate as a combination partner
In addition to the known corticosteroid-sparing effect of MTX treatment, the subject of methotrexate as a combination partner of biotechnological medicinal products should receive more attention. In recent years, a growing number of publications have investigated and described the positive properties of methotrexate with regard to the reduced rate of antibody development when combined with biologicals.
The metoject®/metex® PEN is available in a total of ten different dosages∗ (7.5 mg / 10 mg / 12.5 mg /
15 mg / 17.5 mg / 20 mg / 22.5 mg / 25 mg / 27.5 mg / 30 mg).