Genetic therapy predicts drug effectiveness for arthritis

Ineffective therapies for rheumatoid arthritis cost patients more than $2 billion a year, according to a paper in Arthritis and Rheumatology.

That could be changing as scientists use genetic profiling of joint tissue to see which drugs will work for patients, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

Instead of a trial and error approach to treating RA, scientists hope to develop genetic profiles to show them which medicines will be most effective.