326 patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis, with whom methotrexate was deemed inappropriate, were randomized to receive tocilizumab intravenously every 4 weeks plus a placebo subcutaneously every 2 weeks for 24 weeks or adalimumab subcutaneously every 2 weeks plus a placebo intravenously every 4 weeks for 24 weeks, in order to compare the safety and efficacy between the two drugs. After the 24 weeks of treatment, the results collected exhibited that the reduction in rheumatoid symptoms was significantly more apparent in patients who received tocilizumab monotherapy, in comparison to the adalimumab monotherapy. Although there were no significant differences between the two groups in regard to incidence of adverse events, it should be noted that the occurrence of abnormalities was higher with the tocilizumab group.