(From CNN)

It's considered a breakthrough drug in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Ronda Rowland reports on the impact of the new drug Enbrel.

An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration has given its unanimous recommendation. Two years ago Gloria Baswell could not crochet. She was in constant pain from rheumatoid arthritis.

"There were times I couldn't get out of bed without help. And I tried every drug there was and nothing worked," she says.

So Baswell joined a study of a new kind of drug called Enbrel. Within weeks, "A miracle had happened in my body and I was normal, I felt wonderful, I had no morning stiffness, no pain, no swelling," she says.

Unlike most other treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, she had relief --without side effects.

"The majority of patients, over 75% of patients have improvement. There is a subset of patients who have not had significant improvements."

Now an advisory committee to the FDA has recommended Enbrel be approved for patients who have failed existing, standard therapies.

Enbrel is the first in a brand new class of drugs.

Enbrel is a breakthrough drug in that it's the first drug that specifically targets the knowing process that occurs in the joints. It inhibits tumor necrosis factor.

Tumor necrosis factor, or t.n.f., is a protein that causes the inflammation that leads to joint destruction.

Enbrel works by binding with, or hooking onto the t.n.f. protein, before it can cause joint damage...essentially stopping the disease process.

But some, including The Arthritis Foundation - urge caution.

"We know from the studies that have been done that after it has stopped, the disease can come back. So it's certainly not a cure, it's a disease modifer and it's going to be very helpful," the foundation predicts.

Although Enbrel's considered a breakthru drug, it's just one drug that's expected to hit pharmacy shelves within the next year. For the first time in a decade, people with Rheumatoid Arthritis may soon be able to choose from among several new therapies.

For instance, another t.n.f. blocker - Remicade - will go before the FDA by year's end.

Just last week the FDA approved Arava -- a drug that works similar to Methotrexate, the current gold standard treatment.

Cox-2 inhibitors -- a gentler type of aspirin, or painkiller -- are also expected to hit the market soon.