Verkningsmekanismen hos etanercept tros vara att den konkurrerar med TNF - bindningen till cellytans TNF- receptorer, så att cellens TNF- styrda respons stoppas när TNF blir biologiskt inaktivt. ###>The mechanism of action of etanercept is thought to be its competitive inhibition of TNF binding to cell surface TNFR, preventing TNF-mediated cellular responses by rendering TNF biologically inactive.