Publications

This large French nationwide study by Fautrel et al. provided reassuring results for patients, who initiated tocilizumab (TCZ), aged at least 75 years compared to younger patients. Authors compared patient characteristics, tolerance of RA treatments, and long-term management with TCZ in patients with RA over and under 75 years of age.

Most patients vaccinated with RZV while using UPA 15mg QD and background MTX achieved satisfactory humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) at Weeks 4, 16 and 60. Winthrop et al. evaluated the immunogenicity of RZV through Week 60 in patients with RA who were receiving UPA 15mg QD and background MTX.

Burmester et al. provide insights into the benefit–risk profiles of UPA and adalimumab in patients with varying cardiovascular (CV) risks, suggesting that UPA may offer efficacy advantages over adalimumab irrespective of baseline CV risk, with generally similar rates of AEs. To better understand the benefits and risks of RA treatments in patients with different background CV risk, Burmester et al. assessed the short-term and long-term benefit–risk profiles of UPA and adalimumab in patients enrolled in SELECT-COMPARE.

Mease et al. found that bimekizumab demonstrated a favourable long-term safety profile in patients with axSpA and PsA.

Deodhar et al. conducted a pooled analysis of Phase 2 and 3 RCT data to assess the safety of tofacitinib in AS. The results showed that tofacitinib 5 mg BID had a tolerable safety profile over 48 weeks, consistent with its use in other inflammatory conditions such as RA and PsA.

Tanaka et al. observed that in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tofacitinib, those with absolute lymphocyte counts (ALCs) <0.5x10³ cells/mm³ had a higher risk of serious infections and herpes zoster events compared to patients with higher ALC levels. This threshold may help identify increased infection risk in this population

Burmester, et al. found that long-term filgotinib exposure was well tolerated in patients with moderate-to-severe active RA, with a stable rate of TEAEs over time. However, potential dose-dependent relationships for herpes zoster infections, malignancies and all-cause mortality were observed in patients aged ≥65 years, indicating the potential impact of age on the safety profile of Filgotinib. Therefore, some patients aged ≥65 years may benefit from the filgotinib 100 mg dose option.

Results of this analysis by Hernández-Cruz, et al. show that infections, herpes zoster and gastrointestinal AEs in patients with RA tended to be more frequent with JAKi treatment versus TNFi. They also found that treatment persistence was similar with JAKi and TNFi in patients with RA and axSpA, and only slightly higher for TNFi in patients with PsA.