Publications

Data were examined to compare patient characteristics, treatment patterns and costs in patients with RA receiving tofacitinib (TOF) or common bDMARDs (adalimumab [ADA], etanercept (ETN) or abatacept [ABA]) who had previously received a single bDMARD.This study analyses real-world data from two US claims databases between November 2012 and October 2014. Data were collected from a total of 1252 patients in the Truven Marketscan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases. Pre-index (12-months before initiating bDMARD or TOF) use of bDMARD was greater in TOF patients (77.6% vs 59.6% (ADA), 49.2% (ETN), 47.6% (ABA). More patients who started therapy on TOF received monotherapy and stayed on monotherapy compared with bDMARDs (P<0.05 for ABA). Persistence and adherence were similar whether patients received TOF or bDMARDS.RA-related costs 12-months post index were lower for TOF ($23,568) than for bDMARDs ($29,278; $26,885; and $30,477, respectively) despite significantly higher pre-index costs. The data reported here support use of TOF following bDMARD use. However, further analysis is needed because of the greater bDMARD use in the 12 months before TOF initiation and also the greater RA-related costs within this period seen for TOF versus bDMARDs.