Patients classified as having a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR-High) who received filgotinib 200mg + MTX/csDMARDs exhibited consistently better responses after 12 weeks across clinical trials, clinical endpoints, and PROs, compared with NLR-Low patients. Taylor et al. analysed data from the 3 FINCH trials to investigate the potential association of baseline NLR with improved clinical response to filgotinib in MTX-naïve or MTX-experienced RA populations.

July 2024

Vedolizumab, Adalimumab, and Methotrexate Combination Therapy in Crohn's Disease (EXPLORER)

Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2024;22:1487–96 doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2023.09.010

This Phase 4, prospective, open-label study provides additional support for the utility of vedolizumab, adalimumab, and methotrexate combination therapy in biologic-naïve patients with newly diagnosed, moderate to high-risk Crohn's disease. Investigators examined the efficacy of this triple therapy for achieving endoscopic and clinical remission at Week 26.

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.

May 2024

Crude gastrointestinal perforation (GIP) incidence rate was higher for the JAKi group compared with those receiving adalimumab, however rates of GIP did not differ between JAKi and adalimumab groups in the weighted and adjusted model. Hoisnard et al compared the risk of GIP in patients initiating treatment with JAKis or adalimumab among real-world patients with rheumatic disease.

April 2024

Fleischmann, et al. found that patients who switched from adalimumab to upadacitinib and vice versa following lack of improvement showed improvements in disease activity measures and functional outcomes through 228 weeks.

Risk of venous thromboembolism with tofacitinib versus tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in cardiovascular risk-enriched rheumatoid arthritis patients

Arthritis Rheumatol 2024 doi: 10.1002/art.42846 Epub ahead of print https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38481002/

This post hoc analysis of ORAL Surveillance showed that incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) events was higher in patients with RA treated with tofacitinib (10>5mg BID) versus TNFi. Across treatments, VTE risk factors (age, BMI, and VTE history) were aligned with previous studies in the general RA population.

Treatment with risankizumab showed significantly greater efficacy over adalimumab in providing substantial skin clearance in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque PsO. This study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of risankizumab compared with adalimumab in an active-comparator Phase 3 trial.

Patients treated with guselkumab showed an improved and sustained clinical response compared to both adalimumab and placebo, without compromising safety profile. The Phase 3 VOYAGE 2 trial by Reich et al focused on treatment interruption and withdrawal, as well as treatment switching from adalimumab to guselkumab.

Guselkumab demonstrated superiority to adalimumab and placebo in treating PsO in this Phase 3 study. Improvements in IGA and PASI scores were observed as early as Week 16 and were maintained up to Week 48. Incidence of adverse events was similar across both treatment groups.