July 2020

Pharmacological Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Literature Research for the 2019 Update of the EULAR Recommendations for the Management of Psoriatic Arthritis

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2020;79:778-786

This SLR reviewed data on pharmacological treatment of PsA. Findings informed the 2019 EULAR taskforce when updating recommendations for PsA management. Overall, no new safety signals were reported. Encouragingly, LTEs of JAKi did not report any venous thromboembolic events or PEs. Efficacy was demonstrated for a range of bDMARD and tsDMARD therapies in various disease domains. Efficacy varied between PsA manifestations and between therapies. Observational data demonstrated efficacy when switchi...

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COVID-19 revisiting inflammatory pathways of arthritis

Nat Rev Rheumatol 2020 doi.org/10.1038/s41584-020-0451-z

This review investigates the potential implications of COVID-19 on the field of rheumatology. Common pathways in COVID-19 and RA have provided rationale for the trial of DMARD therapies in treatment of severe COVID-19 infections. Safety considerations of RA patients undergoing immunomodulatory treatments are reviewed. Recommendations suggest that RA patients should continue DMARD treatment, whereas glucocorticoid use could be deleterious in COVID-19 infection and should be considered carefully, ...

Safety and Efficacy of Tofacitinib in Patients with Active Psoriatic Arthritis: Interim Analysis of OPAL Balance, an Open-Label, Long-Term Extension Study

Rheumatol Ther 2020 doi.org/10.1007/s40744-020-00209-4

This 3-year, open-label, LTE study follows PsA patients previously treated in pivotal studies OPAL Broaden and OPAL Beyond. It demonstrates maintained safety and efficacy of tofacitinib up to 36 and 30 months, respectively. No new safety concerns are highlighted. Previous P3 studies, OPAL Broaden and OPAL Beyond, demonstrated safety and efficacy of 5mg and 10mg tofacitinib BID in PsA. These patients rolled over to OPAL Balance for a period of 36 months. 686 participants were used in this interim...

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Drug retention of 7 biologics and tofacitinib in biologics-naïve and biologics-switched patients with rheumatoid arthritis: the ANSWER cohort study

Arthritis Res Ther 2020;22:142

This paper is based upon a long-term cohort study, namely the ANSWER cohort, an observational multi-centre registry of RA patients in the Kansai district of Japan. Analyses demonstrate a difference in observed drug retention between bDMARDs-naïve and bDMARDs-switched patients. 7 bDMARD treatments were compared in patients with no prior exposure to biologics, with abatacept showing the greatest retention rate. In patients that had switched between these same bDMARDs or to tofacitinib throughout t...

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June 2020

Comparative effectiveness of antitumour necrosis factor agents, biologics with an alternative mode of action and tofacitinib in an observational cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Switzerland

RMD Open 2020;6:e001174 doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001174

This nested cohort study found that, in Switzerland, there was a generally limited overall drug maintenance for b/tsDMARD options in RA. Using data from SCQM-RA – a prospective longitudinal registry, overall maintenance (drug survival) was calculated for TNFi, bDMARD-OMA or JAKi in patients with RA.After adjusting for potential confounding factors, there was a higher hazard of drug discontinuation with TNFi compared with tofacitinib; no significant difference was observed between non-TNF bDMARDs...

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Safety Profile of Baricitinib For the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Over a Median of 3 Years of Treatment: An Updated Integrated Safety Analysis

Lancet Rheumatol 2020;2:e347–57

RA is a chronic, life-long disease requiring long-term treatment. As such, it is important to understand the long-term safety profile of DMARDs. In this analysis, baricitinib maintained a stable safety profile during long-term exposure. This baricitinib safety analysis included integrated data from nine Phase 3, 2, and 1b clinical trials, and one long-term extension, with data up to 360 weeks. 3700 patients were included, with maximum follow-up of almost 7 years – representing an additional 3,54...

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May 2020

Fenebrutinib Versus Placebo or Adalimumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Phase II Trial (ANDES Study)

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Sep; 72(9): 1435–1446.

In this randomised phase II trial with MTX treatment-refractory RA patients, greater efficacy was observed with fenebrutinib 150 mg once daily or 200 mg twice daily compared to placebo, while response rates were numerically similar to those observed with adalimumab. BTK inhibitors have demonstrated clinical efficacy in B cell malignancies and multiple sclerosis, although there is limited clinical evidence of its efficacy in RA. Fenebrutinib (FEN) an orally active and selective non-covalent inhib...

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Evaluation of Hepatitis B Virus in Clinical Trials of Baricitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis

RMD Open 2020;6:e001095

Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation was seen in patients with RA treated with DMARDs, including BARI, who had serology suggestive of prior infection, reactivation was transient even with continued BARI treatment and did not account for any clinically relevant AEs.Reactivation of HBV replication is a recognised complication in patients receiving biologic agents for RA, such as DMARDs. Limited data exist on prevalence of occult infection and the incidence of reactivation in RA patients t...

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April 2020

IgA Vasculitis Developed as an Adverse Effect of Tofacitinib Taken for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Intern Med. 2020;59(6):817-821

Nephrotoxicity is a key side effect of NSAIDs and DMARDs used to treat RA, while biologics can reportedly cause proliferative glomerulonephritis or crescentic glomerulonephritis. This report reviews a patient on TOF presenting IgA vasculitis as an adverse effect that fully resolved following termination of TOF.Drug induced IgA vasculitis has been previously described for anti-TNFɑ therapies, but this is the first report with JAK inhibitor therapy. This is a case report of a 67-year old woman wit...

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March 2020

Baricitinib Exposure During Pregnancy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2020;12:1759720X19899296

Broad and focused studies are required to have an insight of safety for small molecules, such as JAK inhibitors in the case of accidental exposure before or during pregnancy.This case study’s objective describes a case report of a 43-year-old woman affected by RA who became pregnant during BARI treatment. She has had two previous pregnancies at term without complications. After failure of bDMARDs due to loss of efficacy and adverse drug reactions, the patient was started on BARI when it became a...

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