July 2022

Efficacy and Safety of Upadacitinib for Active Ankylosing Spondylitis Refractory to Biological Therapy: A Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled Phase 3 Trial

Ann Rheum Dis 2022 doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-222608

Van der Heijde et al., carried out a study to show whether upadacitinib offers an effective treatment option for bDMARD-naïve and bDMARD-IR patients with active AS. Their results indicated that upadacitinib 15 mg significantly improved the signs and symptoms of active AS. The treatment was well tolerated for 14 weeks in bDMARD-IR patients, consistent with results observed in the upadacitinib AS bDMARD-naïve study.

Keywords:

Factors Associated with Drug-free Remission at 5-year in Early Onset Axial Spondyloarthritis Patients: Data from the DESIR Cohort

Joint Bone Spine. 2022 doi.org/10.1016/j.jbspin.2022.105358

This study from Ruyssen-Witrand et al, highlights that the probability of being in drug free remission at 5-year in patients with recent onset of axSpA is low. The study was performed to investigate the possible association between demographic, clinical, biological and imaging characteristics and drug-free remission at 5 years.

Keywords:

Is the Risk of Infection Higher During Treatment with Secukinumab than with TNF-inhibitors? An Observational Study from the Nordic Countries

Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac358

Glintborg B et al, highlight in their recent research from the Nordic countries, that there is a low frequency of hospitalised infections during treatment with secukinumab or TNFi in patients with SpA and PsA. In clinical practice, secukinumab was found to double absolute risk of 1st year hospitalised infection compared with adalimumab, with the other TNFi treatments falling in between.

Keywords:

Baseline Disease Activity Predicts Achievement of cDAPSA Treatment Targets with Apremilast: Phase III Results in DMARD-naïve Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis

J Rheumatol. 2022 doi: 10.3899/jrheum.210906

Baseline disease activity, as measured by cDAPSA, predicts the achievement of treatment targets in DMARD-naïve patients post- apremilast treatment. To come to this conclusion Mease, et al.  analysed data from the PALACE 4 clinical trial which investigated apremilast in DMARD-naïve patients. 175 patients receiving 30mg apremilast from baseline with cDAPSA data available, were analysed.

Keywords:

Identification of novel off targets of baricitinib and tofacitinib by machine learning with a focus on thrombosis and viral infection

Sci Rep. 2022 doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11879-1

Established machine learning approaches, based on ligand similarity, identified previously unknown off-target interactions of baricitinib and tofacitinib, and adds to the evidence that these JAK inhibitors are promiscuous binders, and highlight the potential for repurposing.

Keywords:

Unincreased risk of hospitalized infection under targeted therapies versus methotrexate in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective cohort study

Arthritis Res Ther. 2022 doi: 10.1186/s13075-022-02807-9

Retrospective, longitudinal, population-based study shows that despite an overall higher incidence of hospitalised infection (HI) in both elderly and older elderly patients compared to young patients, the risks of HI in patients exposed to targeted therapy versus MTX is not significantly increased.

Effectiveness of TNF-inhibitors, abatacept, IL6-inhibitors and JAK-inhibitors in 31 846 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in 19 registers from the ‘JAK-pot’ collaboration

Ann Rheum Dis. 2022 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-222586

Observational study of data, from large international collective of registers, finds similar overall drug retention rates between RA treatment groups.

Keywords:

June 2022

Effect of Tofacitinib on Pain, Fatigue, Health-related Quality of Life and Work Productivity in Patients with Active Ankylosing Spondylitis: Results from A Phase III, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial

RMD Open 2022 doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002253

Navarro-Compán et al, determined the effectiveness of tofacitinib in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis in a Phase III, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Keywords:

Effect of Secukinumab on Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Inflammatory Biomarkers: Post Hoc Analyses of Pooled Data Across Three Indications

Rheumatol Ther 2022 Jun;9(3):935-955. Doi: 10.1007/s40744-022-00434-z

Merola et al., reported the effect of interleukin (IL)-17A inhibition with secukinumab on cardiovascular (CV) risk parameters in patients with psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) over 1 year of treatment. This study evaluated data from 19 secukinumab related clinical trials in phase 3/4 in psoriasis, PsA, and axSpA.

Keywords: