Disease
Areas of Focus
 Rheumatoid
Arthritis
An
estimated 2.1 million adults in the United States—about
one percent of the entire population—have rheumatoid arthritis.1
Potentially debilitating, rheumatoid arthritis can lead to long-term
joint damage, which often results in chronic pain and loss of
function. Moreover, people with rheumatoid arthritis are two
times more likely to die as persons of the same age without the
disease.2
Despite
recent advances in treatment, many current therapies have significant
limitations. Some patients do not respond to commonly prescribed
treatments while others have an initial response that diminishes
over time. In addition, many patients are unable to tolerate
current drug therapies. As a result, important unmet medical
needs continue
to exist. Bristol-Myers Squibb is working on new drug treatments
to help in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis.
Back
to Disease Areas
1. “Prevalence
of Specific Types of Arthritis,” Arthritis
Fact Sheet, The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2006.
2. “Rheumatoid Arthritis Fact Sheet,” The Arthritis
Foundation, 2006. |
