I work in Pharmaceutical market research and see a lot of work being done on new therapy directions for the treatment or RA and the associated pain. I have a particular interest in this having been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome a couple of years back, one of my particular symptoms being arthritic pain in my hips and shoulders which will continue to spread to other joints given time. Not great as I am yet to hit 30.
I see a lot of rheumatologists across Europe and the states discussing clinical data of drugs still at the trial stages. Unfortunately with drugs this takes an awfully long time before they hit the market for the obvious reasons.
The research I see is all data based and so drug names are never mentioned (the Pharma companies like to keep everything as secret as they can until the last minute) so unfortunately I cannot give any names. It is however worthwhile at least asking questions about clinical trials next time you see your rheumatologist as they may well be taking part in such a study that the symptoms of your particular condition may make you eligible for. Worst case scenario is you are not eligible or they are not taking part, however it may just be a worthwhile question.
In the mean time, I feel your pain although perhaps to a lesser degree at this point in time. Hopefully some of these therapies are approaching the approval stage, but in the mean time I wish you the best of luck finding some work that your joints won't punish you for.
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