Program Title:
Biologic Therapy for RA Patients: “Breaking the Cycle”

Release Date: February 14, 2012
Expiration Date: February 29, 2013

Estimated Completion Time:
1.25 Hours

Media: Internet

Software Requirements
PC/Microsoft Windows 2000 SE or above/Internet Explorer (v5.5 or greater), or Firefox/Flash Player Plug-in (9.0 or later) Sound Card & Speakers/800 x 600 Minimum Monitor Resolution (1024 x 768 Recommended)/Adobe Acrobat Reader*
MAC/MAC OS 10.2.8/Safari/Firefox/Flash Player Plug-in (9.0 or later) Sound Card & Speakers/800 x 600 Minimum Monitor Resolution (1024 x 768 Recommended)/Adobe Acrobat Reader*/Internet Explorer is not supported on the Macintosh.

Jointly Sponsored by:
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and CE Health Interactive



This activity is supported by an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb



Target Audience
This educational activity is intended for rheumatologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who use biologics in their patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthcare practitioners with an interest in and involved in the care of patients with RA.

Statement of Need
Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating disease with marked effects on quality of life. It is important for practitioners to establish a therapeutic plan early in the treatment of the disease in order to optimize clinical outcomes. Halting radiographic progression, by sustaining remission, is the primary goal of therapy in patients with RA. However, patients, primarily those with moderate to severe disease, frequently do not remain in remission due to the development of resistance to therapy, particularly that which occurs with the TNF alpha inhibitors. Studies have shown that patients who develop resistance may respond adequately to other monoclonal antibodies within the same class or a different class. Despite this knowledge, there are no clear-cut guidelines on switch therapy with regard to biologic agents. Therefore, the provision of an educational initiative on biologic switch therapy, whereby evidence-based medicine can be applied, is timely in light of the lack of professional guidelines as well as the availability of additional agents. Continued practitioner education in this area will serve to improve patient outcomes.

Educational Objectives
After participating in this activity, participants should be better able to:

• Classify RA patients failing primary TNF inhibitor therapy that may improve from a trial of a second TNF inhibitor
• Distinguish alternative drug treatment strategies that may be beneficial for patients who have failed TNF inhibitor therapies

Faculty
Physician Continuing Education
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 through the joint sponsorship of Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and CE Health Interactive. The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) assesses conflict of interest with its instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of CME activities. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are thoroughly vetted by PIM for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Dr. Philip L. Cohen has received consultancy fees from Centocor and Cephalon.

Dr. Jon T. Giles has received consultancy fees from Genentech and UCB.

Dr. Clifton O. Bingham III received consultancy fees from Abbott, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Centocor, Genentech, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB, preformed contract research for Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Roche, and UCB and received other educational support from Abbott, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Roche, and Wyeth.

The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

The following PIM planners and managers, Laura Excell, ND, NP, MS, MA, LPC, NCC; Trace Hutchison, PharmD; Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD; Jan Schultz, RN, MSN, CCMEP; and Patricia Staples, MSN, NP-C, CCRN hereby state that they or their spouse/life partner do not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months.

The CE Health Interactive Medical Director, James A. Shiffer, RPh, CCP, hereby reports no financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months.

Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this activity. During the period February 14, 2012, through February 29, 2013, participants must read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures and study the educational activity.

PIM supports Green CME by offering your Request for Credit online. If you wish to receive acknowledgment for completing this activity, please complete the post-test and evaluation on www.cmeuniversity.com. On the navigation menu under Course Links, click on “Find Evaluation/Post-test” and then Find Evaluation 8356. Upon registering and successfully completing the post-test with a score of 70% or better and the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately. Processing credit requests online will reduce the amount of paper used by nearly 100,000 sheets per year.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM), CE Health Interactive and Bristol-Myers Squibb do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of PIM, CE Health Interactive and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. 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.