Publications

Baraliakos et al. compared real-world effectiveness of upadacitinib, TNF inhibitors, or IL-17 inhibitors following inadequate response to an initial TNF inhibitor in patients with axSpA. Upadacitinib was associated with greater reductions in pain and fewer affected joints compared with switching to a second TNF inhibitor or IL-17 inhibitor.

Haddad et al. used real-world data from Israel’s largest health maintenance organisation to investigate predictors and patterns of biologic therapy switching in PsA, reporting that nearly half of biologic users switched therapy at least once. Cross-class switching, particularly from anti-TNF to IL-17 therapies, was frequent and consistent across two decades of treatment data.

Kaya et al. reported that switching to secukinumab or cycling to another TNFi after first TNFi failure in axSpA led to comparable drug survival, with predictive factors differing by treatment. The study reports that smoking and Achilles enthesitis were associated with higher SEC discontinuation, while high CRP and primary TNFi failure predicted TNFi discontinuation.

Miyazaki et al. investigated the efficacy and safety of switching to bDMARDs versus cycling among JAKis in RA patients with inadequate JAKi response. Cycling to another JAKi proved more effective in improving disease activity at 26 weeks compared to switching to a bDMARD, and both groups had similar safety profiles.

Gladman et al. assessed the impact of bimekizumab over 1 year on patient-reported symptoms, HRQoL, and work productivity in patients with PsA who were bDMARD-naïve or TNF-IR. The study showed that bimekizumab treatment resulted in sustained improvements across multiple domains, including pain, fatigue, physical function, and work impairment.

Genetic variants in TNFα, NLRP3, MYD88, and FcRγ genes were associated with a response to TNFi, when assessing several inflammatory diseases together. Al-Sofi et al. conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic markers and their response to biologics in psoriasis, PsA, RA, IBD, and across all chronic inflammatory diseases together.

More RA patients on upadacitinib versus adalimumab achieved clinical remission, LDA, and DAS28 (CRP) <2.6. Radiographic progression was less with continuous upadacitinib versus continuous adalimumab. Upadacitinib showed similar safety to adalimumab, with higher incidences of HZ, lymphopenia, CPK elevation, hepatic disorder and nonmelanoma skin cancer.