Peyrin-Biroulet et al. evaluated the efficacy and safety of etrasimod in patients with moderately to severely active isolated proctitis, demonstrating significant improvement in clinical outcomes compared to placebo. The study reported a favourable safety profile, making etrasimod a viable treatment option for this population.

Magro et al. evaluated histologic outcomes for mirikizumab in Crohn's disease and found that early combined histologic-endoscopic response was associated with endoscopic remission after 1 year of treatment.

Pacheco et al. demonstrated that, compared with axSpA patients who respond to secukinumab,  patients who do not respond show increased IL-17A-producing cells and have a more pronounced type 1 IFN signature, indicating a larger inflammatory burden.

Deodhar et al. investigated the impact on efficacy and safety of escalating secukinumab dose from 150mg to 300mg Q4W in AS patients who did not achieve inactive disease during an initial 16-week period of 150mg secukinumab. At Week 52, clinical safety response rates were similar across groups continuing with 150mg or escalating to 300mg secukinumab.

Mease et al. assessed the comparative effectiveness of bimekizumab and risankizumab in patients with PsA over 52 weeks using a matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC). The study included patients who were biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) naïve or had a prior inadequate response or intolerance to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR).

McInnes et al. reported that bimekizumab demonstrated sustained efficacy and safety over 52 weeks in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), regardless of concomitant methotrexate (MTX) use. Both bimekizumab groups (with and without MTX) showed similar improvements in achieving ACR50 and PASI100 responses.

van Vollenhoven et al. compared the efficacy and safety of upadacitinib monotherapy to methotrexate monotherapy over five years in methotrexate-naïve patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The study found that upadacitinib provided better long-term efficacy and higher rates of disease activity remission than methotrexate; however, it was associated with higher incidences of adverse events, particularly at the higher dose of 30 mg.

Fleischmann et al. evaluated the long-term efficacy and safety of upadacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis patients with inadequate response or intolerance to bDMARDs over five years. The study demonstrated that upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg were effective in maintaining disease control, with >75% of patients achieving CDAI LDA by week 260. The safety profile remained consistent with no new issues identified.

Adami et al. conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the GC sparing effects of JAKi versus bDMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis patients. They found that JAKi therapy was associated with a significant reduction in GC dose compared with bDMARDs. This suggests that JAKi could be more effective in reducing long-term GC exposure in RA patients.

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August 2024

Risankizumab versus ustekinumab for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease

N Engl J Med. 2024 Jul 18;391(3):213-223. DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa2314585

Risankizumab was noninferior to ustekinumab with respect to clinical remission at Week 24, and superior with respect to endoscopic remission at Week 48. This study aimed to present data from SEQUENCE, a direct head-to-head trial assessing the efficacy and safety of risankizumab vs ustekinumab in patients with moderate-to-severe CD, in whom at least one anti-TNF treatment had failed.