Golimumab as the first monthly subcutaneous fully human anti-TNF-alpha antibody in the treatment of inflammatory arthropathies.

Golimumab (Simponi, Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., PA, USA) is the first transgenic human monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha that has been approved in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Golimumab is synthesized using conventional hybridoma technique after immunizing transgenic mice containing human immunoglobulin genes. The constant region of golimumab is identical to that of infliximab, but the variable regions of golimumab have fully human sequences. In this article, we present the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties as well as the clinical efficacy and tolerability of golimumab.