Etanercepts virkningsmekanisme menes at være dens kompetitive hæmning af TNF- bindingen til celleoverflade TNF- receptorer, hvilket forhindrer TNF- formidlede cellereaktioner ved at gøre TNF biologisk inaktiv.
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.