Nationwide register-based study in Sweden finds that patients with RA treated with JAKinibs in routine clinical practice are at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), compared with those treated with bDMARDs, an increase numerically confined to pulmonary embolism.

Post hoc analysis from ORAL Surveillance observes higher major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) risk with tofacitinib vs TNFi in patients with RA and history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

September 2022

In the latest study by Curtis, et al. guselkumab treatment regimens improved general HRQoL as measured by the EQ-5D-5L Index and EQ-VAS. In reaching this conclusion investigators aimed to determine the minimal important difference for both instruments and to understand the associations between patient-reported EQ-5D-5L Index and EQ-VAS scores as well as key PsA clinical features.

In the latest study by Brunner, et al. secukinumab demonstrated efficacy and safety in the JIA categories of ERA and JPsA. This phase 3 study aimed to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of secukinumab in patients with active ERA and JPsA.

Olokizumab versus Placebo or Adalimumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis

N Engl J Med. 2022;387(8):715–726. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2201302

Phase 3 trial of olokizumab, a direct inhibitor of the IL-6 ligand, demonstrates superiority to placebo with respect to an ACR20 response at week 12 and noninferiority to adalimumab (all combined with methotrexate), in patients with RA.

Post hoc analysis findings provide the first data evaluating the importance of treatment order with JAKinib vs TNFi as initial therapy, suggesting that a JAKinib first strategy leads to more rapid improvements in treatment outcomes following csDMARD failure.

Post hoc analysis, using the final dataset from ORAL Surveillance, reveals a higher risk of non-serious infections and herpes zoster with tofacitinib vs TNFi, and higher risk of serious infection events with tofacitinib 10 mg BID versus TNFi, particularly in patients aged ≥65 years.

Blocking the IL-6R is a major therapeutic advance for many diseases in adults and children. Updated consensus statement provides guidance to rheumatologists and other experts, as well as patients and administrators, on managing patients with the use of drugs blocking the IL-6 pathway.

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July 2022

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.

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.