Rates of MACE and VTE events in patients with RA or PsA treated are consistent across 15 mg and 30 mg doses of upadacitinib, and comparable with active comparators adalimumab and MTX. Several risk factors were also identified for MACE and VTE events in patients with RA.

In this study, Eder, et al. performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of RCTs to assess information on participants’ characteristics and rates of American College of Rheumatology response and minimal disease activity by sex. The authors found that the biological sex of patients with PsA influences their response to advanced therapies, but the effect varies by drug class.

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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.

November 2023

As part of the GBD 2021, the authors provide updated estimates for the global burden of musculoskeletal disorders, excluding RA, osteoarthritis, low back pain, neck pain, and gout. In 2020, the total years lived with disability globally was estimated to be 42.7 million, which was a 122% increase from 1990. Over the same time period, mortality increased by 199%. The study forecasts an increase in cases by 2050 in all regions, with the exception of Central Europe.

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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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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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.

In this post hoc analysis by Deoodhar, et al., the authors found that tofacitinib demonstrated greater efficacy than placebo in bDMARD-naïve and TNFi-IR AS patients. They also found that safety event rates for tofacitinib therapy were numerically higher in the TNFi-IR subgroup than the bDMARD-naïve subgroup.

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.

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.