Is Tofacitinib an immunosuppressant or a biologic?

Tofacitinib (Tofacitinib) is an immunosuppressant rather than a biologic. Tofacitinibbelongs to the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor category, which regulates immune responses and reduces inflammation by blocking JAKs. Different from immunosuppressants, biological agents refer to protein drugs manufactured through bioengineering technology, such as monoclonal antibodies or recombinant proteins. Although tofacitinib can also interfere with the immune system, its mechanism of action is different from biologics.

The risk of immunosuppression may be increased if tofacitinib is used concomitantly with immunosuppressive drugs (such as azathioprine, tacrolimus, cyclosporine), but has not been used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis The combination with biologic antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or potent immunosuppressants has been studied in patients with rheumatic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis, or polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Concomitant use of tofacitinib with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or potent immunosuppressants is therefore not clinically recommended.

Tofacitinib has been launched in China and has entered the scope of Class B medical insurance. The common specification is tofacitinib citrate tablets. The price paid by medical insurance is relatively cheap, butthe reimbursement ratio is different in different regions, and the price after reimbursement will be different. Overseas, there are also generic drugs of tofacitinib produced in other countries. The price of each box produced by a Bangladeshi pharmaceutical factory is around 300 yuan (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate). The ingredients of domestic original drugs and foreign generic drugs are basically the same, and the prices of different specifications will be different.