Publications

Highlights of 2021

Please click the links below to go to the CSF review of each paper

McInnes IB

I’m sure we’d all hoped that this year would be a return to normal but, in the midst of the challenges we’ve faced with COVID-19, the rheumatology community has continued to deliver excellent publications, and we’ve covered many of these on the CSF. Here are my highlights from 2021's publications: Points to Consider for the Treatment of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases With Janus Kinase Inhibitors: A Co...

Keywords:

• Review

Upadacitinib in patients with psoriatic arthritis and an inadequate response to non-biological therapy: 56-week data from the phase 3 SELECT-PsA 1 study

RMD Open. 2021;7(3):e001838

McInnes IB,

Kato K,

Magrey M,

Merola JF,

Kishimoto M,

Pacheco-Tena C,

Haaland D,

Chen L,

Duan Y,

Zueger P,

Liu J,

Lippe R,

Pangan AL,

Behrens F

Analysis of data over 56 weeks shows that efficacy responses are maintained with upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg.Following the publication of 12-week data from the Phase III, randomised double-blind, SELECT-PsA 1 study, earlier this year, McInnes, et al. now report the 56-week efficacy and safety data of upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg in patients with PsA and an inadequate response to non-biological therapyEfficacy responses and inhibition of radiographic progression were maintained with upadacitinib...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Phase 3

Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib versus baricitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in real clinical practice: analyses with propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting

Ann Rheum Dis. 2021;80(9):1130-1136

Miyazaki Y,

Nakano K,

Nakayamada S,

Kubo S,

Inoue Y,

Fujino Y,

Tanaka Y.

Propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting shows that efficacy may differ between tofacitinib and baricitinib. Miyazaki, et al. compared the efficacy and safety of the two JAK inhibitors in real-world clinical practice, after reduction to a minimum of the selection bias, using propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting, and adjustment for confounding patient characteristics. They found that tofacitinib may be less effective in patients resistant to m...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Baricitinib,
• Efficacy,
• Safety,
• Real-World

Upadacitinib Monotherapy Improves Patient-Reported Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results From SELECT-EARLY and SELECT-MONOTHERAPY

Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021;60(7):3209–21

Strand V,

Tundia N,

Wells A,

Buch MH,

Radominski SC,

Camp HS,

Friedman A,

Suboticki JL,

Dunlap K,

Goldschmidt D,

Bergman M.

Upadacitinib treatment results in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life.Strand, et al. evaluated the effect of upadacitinib monotherapy versus methotrexate (MTX) on patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in MTX-naïve and MTX-inadequate responder patients with moderately-to-severely active RA. Their research from the SELECT-EARLY and SELECT-MONOTHERAPY randomised controlled trials found that upadacitinib monotherapy resulted in clinically mean...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Phase 3,
• PRO / QoL

Upadacitinib in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis and Inadequate Response to Biologics: 56-Week Data from the Randomized Controlled Phase 3 SELECT-PsA 2 Study

Rheumatol Ther. 2021;8(2):903–919

Mease PJ,

Lertratanakul A,

Papp KA,

van den Bosch FE,

Tsuji S,

Dokoupilova E,

Keiserman MW,

Bu X,

Chen L,

McCaskill RM,

Zueger P,

McDearmon-Blondell EL,

Pangan AL,

Tillett W.

Fifty-six-week data suggest that upadacitinib could be a favourable long-term treatment option in patients with PsA who are refractory to biologic therapy.As the need for additional therapeutic agents that can effectively control disease activity continues, new data from a 56-week analysis of the oral reversible JAK1 inhibitor, upadacitinib, currently under investigation for the treatment of PsA, shows that efficacy of the drug is maintained over the duration of this study.Mease, et al. explored...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Phase 3,
• Safety,
• Efficacy

JAK selectivity and the implications for clinical inhibition of pharmacodynamic cytokine signalling by filgotinib, upadacitinib, tofacitinib and baricitinib

Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Mar 19:annrheumdis-2020-219012. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-219012

Traves PG,

Murray B,

Campigotto F,

Galien R,

Meng A,

Di Paolo JA

The first study to combine in vitro inhibition of cytokine responses in whole blood with clinical pharmacokinetics of individual JAKinibs to model daily cytokine-mediated pharmacodynamic profiles in healthy individuals and patients with RA, has demonstrated that JAKinib potencies depended on cytokine stimulus, pSTAT readout and cell type.Traves and colleagues have observed that JAKinibs have unique, differential effects on specific cytokine signalling pathways, dependent on cytokine stimulus, ST...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Basic Science,
• MOA

Upadacitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Benefit–Risk Assessment Across a Phase III Program

Drug Saf. 2021 Feb 2. DOI: 10.1007/s40264-020-01036-w

Conaghan PG,

Mysler E,

Tanaka Y,

Da Silva-Tillmann B,

Shaw T,

Liu J,

Ferguson R,

Enejosa JV,

Cohen S,

Nash P,

Rigby W,

Burmester G

Upadacitinib 15 mg has a favourable benefit–risk profile according to an assessment of data from the phase III SELECT clinical trial programme.In this review of data for the once-daily, oral JAK inhibitor, Conaghan PG, et al. provided insights into the benefit–risk profile of upadacitinib in approximately 4400 patients with RA. Based on pooled data from five pivotal studies, benefits and risks were assessed up to the time of regulatory submission, and additional long-term integrated safety revie...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Phase 3,
• Review

Which Patient-reported Outcomes do Rheumatology Patients Find Important to Track Digitally? A Real-world Longitudinal Study in Arthritis Power

Arthritis Res Ther. 2021;23(1):53.

Nowell WB,

Gavigan K,

Kannowski CL,

Cai Z,

Hunter T,

Venkatachalam S,

Birt J,

Workman J,

Curtis JR

Fatigue, physical function, pain, and morning joint stiffness are the most important PROs to track, according to the rheumatology patients who experience these symptoms. Increasingly used, alongside clinical measures, to track symptoms and assess disease activity over time, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are also important indicators of quality of life and treatment effectiveness. To enable us to better understand which PROs patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease consider most imp...

Keywords:

• PRO / QoL,
• Real-World

Upadacitinib Monotherapy Versus Methotrexate Monotherapy in Methotrexate-naïve Japanese Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Sub-analysis of The Phase 3 SELECT-EARLY study

Mod Rheumatol 2021;26:1–16.

Takeuchi T,

Rischmueller M,

Blanco R,

Xavier RM,

Ueki Y,

Atsumi T,

Chen S,

Friedman A,

Pangan AL,

Strand V,

van Vollenhoven RF

In this sub-analysis of the Phase 3 SELECT-EARLY study, UPA demonstrated clinical efficacy superior to placebo in the Japanese subpopulation. Along with a favourable efficacy observed with the Japan-specific 7.5 mg dose of UPA for all secondary endpoints. SELECT-EARLY was designed to study the safety and efficacy of UPA 15 and 30mg as monotherapy, but it also included a subset of 138 Japanese patients, 40% of whom were randomised to receive UPA 7.5mg. This was designed to meet the requirements o...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Phase 3

Upadacitinib for psoriatic arthritis refractory to biologics: SELECT-PsA 2

Annals of the rheumatic diseases. 2021 Mar 1;80(3):312-20.

Mease PJ,

Lertratanakul A,

Anderson JK,

Papp K,

Van den Bosch F,

Tsuji S,

Dokoupilova E,

Keiserman M,

Wang X,

Zhong S,

McCaskill RM,

Zueger P,

Pangan AL,

Tillett W

In this trial of patients with active PsA who had inadequate response or intolerance to at least one biologic DMARD, upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg was more effective than placebo over 24 weeks in improving signs and symptoms of PsA. Despite the availability of bDMARDs in PsA, only a small proportion of patients achieve the recommended target of minimal disease activity; as such, additional treatment options are needed. Upadacitinib is under evaluation for PsA. This paper reports the 24-week data ...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Phase 3