Publications

Edwards et al. reported that in patients with RA who achieved sustained LDA or remission, tapering baricitinib from 4mg to 2mg allowed most to maintain LDA at 96 weeks. Rescue with 4mg restored control for the majority, demonstrating the feasibility of dose reduction with recovery potential for treatment.

The RA-BEYOND study randomised patients maintaining LDA or remission on 4mg baricitinib to continue the dose or taper to 2mg. The primary aim was to assess sustained disease control, with rescue mechanisms in place. Maintenance rates for LDA were lower in the 2mg group (59.9% vs 70.2% for 4mg), but patients who lowered to 2mg daily mostly all improved again with dosing back to 4mg of baricitinib, but only 8% were bDMARD exposed prior, so the results are generalisable to csDMARD-IR patients.