Enbrel vs Cimzia
Both are TNF inhibitors. Here is how Enbrel and Cimzia compare on class, mechanism, dosing, approval and supply.
At a glance
Key differences
- Same class. Both Enbrel and Cimzia are TNF inhibitors, so they work through the same broad mechanism. Differences between them tend to be about dosing, route, how selective they are, and side effects rather than what they target.
- How they are taken. Both are given by the subcutaneous route.
- Time on the market. Enbrel was first approved by the FDA in 1998, Cimzia in 2008. That gives Enbrel roughly 10 more years of real-world use and long-term safety data.
- Who markets them. Enbrel is marketed by Amgen (Immunex); Cimzia by UCB.
What each one treats
Enbrel is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker indicated for the treatment of: Adult patients with: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) ( 1.1 ) Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) ( 1.3 ) Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) ( 1.4 ) Plaque Psoriasis (PsO) ( 1.5 ) Pediatric patients with: Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (pJIA), 2 years of age or older ( 1.2 ) Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis, 2 years of age or older (JPsA) ( 1.6 ) Plaque Psoriasis, 4 years of age or older ( 1.5 ) 1.1 Rheumatoid Arthritis Enbrel is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms, inducing major clinical response, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Enbrel can be initiated in combination with methotrexate (MTX) or used alone. 1.2 Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Enbrel is indicated for reducing signs and…
CIMZIA is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker indicated for: Reducing signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease and maintaining clinical response in adult patients with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy ( 1.1 ) Treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis ( 1.2 ) Treatment of active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) in patients 2 years of age and older ( 1.3 ) Treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis. ( 1.4 ) Treatment of adults with active ankylosing spondylitis ( 1.5 ) Treatment of adults with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis with objective signs of inflammation ( 1.6 ) Treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy ( 1.7 ) 1.1 Crohn's Disease CIMZIA is indicated for reducin…
How each one works
12.1 Mechanism of Action TNF is a naturally occurring cytokine that is involved in normal inflammatory and immune responses. It plays an important role in the inflammatory processes of RA, polyarticular JIA, PsA, and AS and the resulting joint pathology. In addition, TNF plays a role in the inflammatory process of PsO. Elevated levels of TNF are found in involved tissues and fluids of patients with RA, JIA, PsA, AS, and PsO. Two distinct receptors for TNF (TNFRs), a 55 kilodalton protein (p55) and a 75 kilodalton protein (p75), exist naturally as monomeric molecules on cell surfaces and in soluble forms. Biological activity of TNF is dependent upon binding to either cell surface TNFR. Etane…
12.1 Mechanism of Action Certolizumab pegol binds to human TNFα with a KD of 90pM. TNFα is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine with a central role in inflammatory processes. Certolizumab pegol selectively neutralizes TNFα (IC 90 of 4 ng/mL for inhibition of human TNFα in the in vitro L929 murine fibrosarcoma cytotoxicity assay) but does not neutralize lymphotoxin α (TNFβ). Certolizumab pegol cross-reacts poorly with TNF from rodents and rabbits, therefore in vivo efficacy was evaluated using animal models in which human TNFα was the physiologically active molecule. Certolizumab pegol was shown to neutralize membrane-associated and soluble human TNFα in a dose-dependent manner. Incubation of mon…
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Which medicine is right for a given person depends on their diagnosis, other conditions, other medicines, kidney and liver function, pregnancy, and cost or reimbursement — none of which this page knows. Two drugs in the same class are not automatically interchangeable. Never start, stop or switch a prescription medicine on the basis of a web page; that decision belongs to you and your clinician or pharmacist.
How this page is built
The facts on this page are pulled directly from official U.S. FDA datasets — they are not written from memory. Each field below names the dataset it came from, so you can check it yourself.
- FDA Drug Label (openFDA) ↗ Indications, mechanism of action and pharmacologic class
- Drugs@FDA ↗ First FDA approval date and the company holding the application
- FDA Drug Shortage Database ↗ Current US supply / shortage status
Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 9 Oct 2026. How every register is built: methodology · fixes we have made: corrections log.