Biological response modifiers (BRMs) are substances that modify immune responses. They can be endogenous (produced naturally within the body) or exogenous (as pharmaceutical drugs), and they can either enhance an immune response or suppress it. Some of these substances arouse the body's response to an infection, and others can keep the response from becoming excessive. Thus they serve as immunomodulators in immunotherapy (therapy that makes use of immune responses), which can be helpful in treating cancer (where targeted therapy often relies on the immune system being used to attack cancer cells) and in treating autoimmune diseases (in which the immune system attacks the self), such as some kinds of arthritis and dermatitis. Most BRMs are biopharmaceuticals (biologics), including monoclonal antibodies, interleukin 2, interferons, and various types of colony-stimulating factors (e.g., CSF, GM-CSF, G-CSF).[1] "Immunotherapy makes use of BRMs to enhance the activity of the immune system to increase the body's natural defense mechanisms against cancer",[2] whereas BRMs for rheumatoid arthritis aim to reduce inflammation.
Some conditions which biologics are used to treat are rheumatic disorders[3] such as psoriatic arthritis,[4] ankylosing spondylitis and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis,[5] and inflammatory bowel disease.[6]
Singh 2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Consumer Reports Biologics was invoked but never defined (see the help page).