Certolizumab Pegol Efficacy in Patients with Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis Stratified by Baseline MRI and C-Reactive Protein Status: An Analysis From the C-axSp And Study

The results of this analysis indicated that certolizumab pegol (CZP) treatment benefits patients with nr-axSpA across all the MRI/CRP subgroups studied. To reach this conclusion, this study evaluated clinical responses to CZP in patients with nr-axSpA stratified by baseline MRI/CRP status.

Interestingly, responses were numerically higher in patients who were MRI+/CRP+, particularly for ASDAS-MI, but still substantial in MRI+/CRP− and MRI−/CRP+ patients. Despite having a potentially high burden of disease and the potential to respond to treatment with biologics MRI+/CRP− and MRI−/CRP+ patients are currently deemed ineligible for such treatment by some regulatory authorities.