December 2023

Malignancy in the Upadacitinib Clinical Trials for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, and Non-radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis

Rheumatol Ther 2023;11(1):97–112 doi 10.1007/s40744-023-00621-6

Rates of malignancy were similar between upadacitinib, adalimumab, and MTX. They were also consistent across RA, PsA, AS and nr-axSpA. A dose-dependent increased rate of NMSC was observed with upadacitinib in RA. For RA and PsA, being older (≥65 years) and male was associated with
an increased risk of malignancy excluding NMSC.

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Deucravacitinib, a selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, in scalp psoriasis: A subset analysis of two Phase 3 randomized trials in plaque psoriasis

Am Acad Dermatol 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2023.11.060

This pooled analysis of the Phase 3 PSO-1 and PSO-2 trials shows that deucravacitinib has greater efficacy in treating scalp PsO than placebo and apremilast. At week 16, response rates were greater with deucravacitinib versus placebo or apremilast for scalp-specific Physician Global Assessment 0/1 and Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index. Efficacy was maintained through 52 weeks in patients who received continuous deucravacitinib treatment.

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October 2023

Long-term Safety of Guselkumab in Patients with Psoriatic Disease: An Integrated Analysis of Eleven Phase II/III Clinical Studies in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

Drug Saf 2023;47(1)39–57 doi:10.1007/s40264-023-01361-w

Data gathered from 11 phase 2 and phase 3 trials have shown that guselkumab has a favourable safety profile in treating psoriatic disease. The data were gathered from 4399 patients over 10787 patient years. In the placebo-controlled periods, guselkumab showed a similar safety profile to placebo, and this remained consistent and stable in the non-placebo controlled preiods.

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Effects of 1-year Tofacitinib Therapy on Angiogenic Biomarkers in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2023; 62(SI3):SI304–SI312 doi 10.1093/rheumatology/kead502

This study by Kerekes, et al. investigated the relationship between tofacitinib therapy, angiogenic biomarker levels, and vascular inflammation and function in RA patients. The authors found that tofacitinib treatment reduced the production of bFGF, PlGF and IL-6, which may inhibit synovial and aortic inflammation.

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Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disorders on Biologics and Small Molecules: Network Meta-Analysis

CClin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2023;22:961-970.e12

The results of this study show that anti-IL-12/23, JAK inhibitors, and anti-TNF-α were associated with slightly higher risk of MACE compared with placebo. The risk was no different between biologic treatments, and the magnitude of risk did not differ between IMID type.

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Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Conventional Synthetic, Biologic and Targeted Synthetic Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs: Observational Data from the German RABBIT Register

RMD Open 2023;9:e003489 doi 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003489

This study by Meissner, et al. estimated the effects of JAKi, TNFi, bDMARDs and csDMARDs on the risk of MACE in RA patients. The authors found no significant difference in MACE risk by treatment group, even among patients at increased CV risk.

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Therapy with JAK Inhibitors or bDMARDs and the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in the Dutch Rheumatoid Arthritis Population

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2023 doi 10.1093/rheumatology/kead531 Epub ahead of print

This retrospective inception cohort study investigated RA patients starting a new bDMARD or JAKi prescription between 01 August 2018 and 31 January 2022 from IQVIA’s Dutch Real-World Data Longitudinal Prescription database.

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Bimekizumab Treatment in Patients With Active Axial Spondyloarthritis: 52-week Efficacy and Safety from the Randomised Parallel Phase 3 BE MOBILE 1 and BE MOBILE 2 Studies

Ann Rheum Dis. 2023;83(2):199–213 doi 10.1136/ard-2023-224803

Baraliakos, et al. present data from two Phase 3 studies, BE MOBILE 1 and BE MOBILE 2, that investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in axSpA patients. They found that bimekizumab had sustained and consistent efficacy in patients with nr-axSpA and r-axSpA.

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Gender-specific Differences in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis Receiving Ustekinumab or Tumour Necrosis Factor Inhibitor: Real-world Data

Rheumatology (Oxford) doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kead089.

Real-world data from the PsABio study indicated that females with PsA had more severe disease than males before the initiation of treatment. While both genders experienced treatment related improvements, fewer females than males were able to achieve a favourable disease state within 12 months. Treatment discontinuation and switching were also higher in females than males, due to lower efficacy and adverse events.      

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Global, Regional, and National Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis, 1990–2020, and Projections to 2050: a Systematic Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Lancet Rheumatol 2023;5(10):e594–610 doi 10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00211-4

As part of the GBD 2021, the authors provide updated estimates for the global burden of RA. In 2020, approximately 17.6 million people worldwide had RA, with a 14.1% increase in prevalence since 1990. Mortality decreased by 23.8% from 1990 to 2020. The study forecasts an increase in cases to 31.7 million by 2050.

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