TNF and rheumatoid arthritis: Licensed biological agents, comprising of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors, either monoclonal antibody or immunoglobulin fusion protein, which are grouped as biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), have proven to greatly enhance the effectiveness of RA treatment and improve the health outcomes, in terms of both preventing CVD (Barnabe et al., 2011; Solomon et al., 2013) and reducing mortality (Listing et al., 2015), when compared to those receiving csDMARDs (Smolen et al., 2007; Klareskog et al., 2009).