December 2016

Baricitinib, Methotrexate, or Combination in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and no or Limited Prior Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug Treatment

Arthritis Rheumatol 2016. DOI 10.1002/art.39953. Accepted article

In this 52-week study of patients receiving initial therapy for RA, baricitinib alone or in combination with MTX demonstrated superior efficacy compared with MTX alone.Patients naïve to csDMARD (no or <3 doses of MTX) or bDMARD were randomised 4:3:4 (N=588) toMTX QW, baricitinib 4 mg QD or baricitinib 4 mg QD + MTX QW. The primary endpoint assessment was noninferiority of baricitinib monotherapy to MTX based on ACR20 response at Week 24.Not only was the primary endpoint met, baricitinib monother...

Keywords:

August 2016

A Randomized Phase 2b Study of ABT-494, a Selective JAK Inhibitor in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and an Inadequate Response to Methotrexate

Arthritis Rheumatol 2016; Accepted article DOI 10.1002/art-39808 [Epub 2016]

This dose-ranging study evaluated the efficacy of the novel, selective JAK1 inhibitor ABT-494 versus placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe RA and inadequate response (IR) to MTX.In this 12-week, randomised, double-blind study (BALANCE II), the efficacy and safety ofABT-494 dosed at 3mg, 6 mg, 12 mg, 18 mg (all twice daily) and 24 mg (once daily) was assessed. Patients included had not received prior biologic therapy.Of the 299 patients included in the analysis, the proportions of patients ...

Keywords:

July 2016

Switching from Adalimumab to Tofacitinib in the Treatment of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Research & Therapy. 2016. DOI 10.1186/s13075-016-1049-3 [Epub ahead of print]

Results are reported from an analysis exploring the safety and efficacy of open-label tofacitinib (TOF) following blinded treatment with TOF or adalimumab (ADA) in patients with moderate to severe RA. The analysis included patients from ORAL Sequel, an open-label long-term extension study, which all patients entered following ORAL Standard (one of the studies in the TOF phase 3 program). Only those patients who had been randomized to ADA 40 mg Q2W + MTX or 10 mg TOF + MTX in ORAL Standard were i...

Keywords:

May 2016

Real-world Comparative Risks of Herpes Virus Infections in Tofacitinib and Biologic-treated Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis. 2016 Apr 25;0:1–5 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209131

Herpes Zoster (HZ) complications can cause considerable morbidity including debilitating pain syndromes. Clinical trials of tofacitinib have suggested it may increase the risk of HZ. Although unclear, the mechanism may involve reduced CD4 T-cell function and interference of interferon signalling. Following approval of tofacitinib in the US in 2012, real-world data from Medicare (2006–2013) and from the US longitudinal database, Marketscan, (2010–2014) were analysed. A total of 2526 patients who...

Keywords:

January 2016

Systematic review and meta-analysis of serious infections with tofacitinib and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug treatment in rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials

Arthritis Res Ther. 2015 Dec 15;17(1):362

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of RA. By modulating the signalling of cytokines that are integral to lymphocyte activation, proliferation, and function, tofacitinib may suppress multiple elements of immune response. A systematic literature search including all biologics and tofacitinib procured 66 RCTs and 22 LTEs that were included in a meta-analysis to provide estimated incidence rates, risk ratios, and risk differences of serious infection for each therapy. Es...

Keywords:

October 2015

Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib following inadequate response to conventional synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2015 Aug 14. doi:pii: annrheumdis-2014-207178.

This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib, an oral Janus kinase inhibitor, in patients with inadequate response to sDMARDs or bDMARDs. Findings from this study show both doses of tofacitinib were associated with improvements in efficacy parameters at month 3 versus placebo, and clinical response was numerically greater with bDMARD-naïve versus bDMARD-IR patients (95% CI overlapping). Safety parameters were generally similar; however, patients receiving glucocorticoids had more ...

Keywords:

July 2015

Long-term Safety of Tocilizumab: Results from 3 Years of Followup Postmarketing Surveillance of 5573 Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Japan

The Journal of Rheumatology. 1 June 2015 DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.141210 [Epub ahead of print]

The humanised anti-interleukin 6 receptor monoclonal antibody tocilizumab (TCZ) has been available in clinical practice for several years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term safety of for the treatment of RA in a real-world clinical setting as a long-term extension of a single-arm, observational post marketing surveillance study. Data on selected adverse events (AEs) - fatal events, serious infection, malignancy, GI perforation, and serious cardiac dysfunction - were collect...

April 2015

The effect of tofacitinib on pneumococcal and influenza vaccine responses in rheumatoid arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis. 2015 Mar 20. pii: annrheumdis-2014-207191. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-207191. [Epub ahead of print]

The increased risk of serious infection among RA patients means vaccinations against pneumococcus and influenza are recommended in this group of patients. Studies evaluating immune response to these vaccines in conjunction with DMARD therapy can provide clinicians with important information relating to things such as timing of vaccination.

This study aimed to assess the effect of tofacitinib on vaccine responses to PPSV-23 and the trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine in those whom tofacit...

Keywords:

March 2015

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Twelve-Week, Dose-Ranging Study of Decernotinib, an Oral Selective JAK-3 Inhibitor, as Monotherapy in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(2):334–343.

Decernotinib (VX-509; Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated) is a JAK 3 inhibitor currently under investigation for its potential use in the treatment of RA. The potency and selectivity profiles of this oral compound have already been established in previous trials, so this study aimed to establish the efficacy and safety profiles of the drug, in RA patients who have had an inadequate response to at least one DMARD.

Four doses; 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg and 150 mg, were evaluated in this placebo...

Keywords:

August 2014

Analysis of Infections and All-Cause Mortality in Phase II, III and Long-Term Extension Studies of Tofacitinib in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014;66(11):2924–2937

This study pools data from the global tofacitinib RA development programme (phase II, phase III and long-term extension studies) to determine the rate of infections and all-cause mortality with tofacitinib treatment. In total, 4,789 patients within these studies received tofacitinib, at varying doses and with varying duration.

The overall incidence rate of serious infections was 3.09 events/100 patient-years (95% CI 2.73–3.49), which was stable over time, with pneumonia and skin and soft...

Keywords: