Patent ID: 8080248

Claim:
A method for reducing the symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a patient, said method comprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of a human antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof which specifically binds to human interleukin-6 receptor (hIL-6R), wherein the human antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof comprises the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of a heavy chain variable region (HCVR) having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:19, and the CDRs of a light chain variable region (LCVR) having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:27; wherein the patient exhibits a decrease in at least one RA-associated biomarker at day 8 following administration of the human antibody or antigen binding fragment thereof as compared to the level of the biomarker in the patient prior to the administration.