June 2022

Baseline Characteristics and Treatment Response to Ixekizumab Categorised by Sex in Radiographic and Non radiographic Axial Spondylarthritis Through 52 Weeks: Data from Three Phase III Randomised Controlled Trials

Advance Therapy,2022 Jun;39(6):2806-2819. doi.org/10.1007/s12325−022−02132−2

van der Horst-Bruinsma et al., carried out a post-hoc analysis to confirm that the clinical presentations and responses to ixekizumab therapy may differ in male and female patients.

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Filgotinib as induction and maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis (SELECTION): A phase 2b/3 double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

The Lancet 2021;397:2372–2384 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00666-8

Treatment of patients with UC with filgotinib 200 mg was associated with an increase in clinical remission at Week 10 and Week 58. The proportion of patients with clinical remission at Week 58 was significantly greater in patients who continued FIL 200 mg therapy throughout the trial. The incidence of TEAEs was similar across all treatment groups.

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May 2022

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.

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Risankizumab as maintenance therapy for moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease: Results from the multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, withdrawal Phase 3 FORTIFY maintenance trial

Lancet 2022;399:2031–36 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00466-4

Maintenance treatment with risankizumab was associated with an improvement in coprimary endpoints of clinical remission and endoscopic response in patients with Crohn’s disease compared with placebo.

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Two Phase 3 Trials of Baricitinib for Alopecia Areata

N Engl J Med. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2110343

Phase 3 trials in patients with severe alopecia areata show that baricitinib is superior to placebo with respect to hair regrowth at 36 weeks.
Alopecia areata is characterised by nonscarring hair loss that can affect any hair-bearing site. Although mild cases of this emotionally- and psychosocially-distressing autoimmune disease may resolve within 12 months, more severe forms of the disease are unlikely to remit without treatment.

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Guselkumab for the Treatment of Crohn’s Disease: Induction Results From the Phase 2 GALAXI-1 Study

Gastroenterology 2023;165:1588 doi 10.1053/j.gastro.2022.01.047

Guselkumab induced greater clinical and endoscopic improvements in patients with Crohn’s disease versus placebo, with a favourable safety profile in this Phase 2 trial by Sandborn, et al.

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April 2022

A Retrospective Study of the Efficacy of JAK Inhibitors or Abatacept on Rheumatoid Arthritis-Interstitial Lung Disease

Inflammopharmacology. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s10787-022-00936-w

This study of the effectiveness of JAKinibs or abatacept in patients with RA-interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) shows that treatment is related to stability or improvement of RA-ILD in over 80% of patients.

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Achieving pain control in early rheumatoid arthritis with baricitinib monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate versus methotrexate monotherapy

RMD Open. 2022;8(1):e001994 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001994

Post hoc analysis of the RA-BEGIN trial finds that, over a one-year period, patients treated with baricitinib (monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate [MTX]) report greater pain relief and a more rapid attainment of clinically meaningful thresholds of pain improvement, than patients who receive MTX monotherapy.Often overlooked, when treating RA solely to a disease activity target, patient-reported pain is common in RA, even in those reaching inflammatory remission. The fact that pain per...

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Oral surveillance and JAK inhibitor safety: the theory of relativity

Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1038/s41584-022-00767-7

Putting the data into context, Winthrop, et al. conclude that the ORAL Surveillance data are not dissimilar to those from the original developmental programme, which suggested additional safety concerns at the 10 mg dosage and that resulted in the 5 mg twice daily dosage as the approved dose for RA.Following the recent results of the ORAL Surveillance (ORALSURV) study, and the consequent changes to the utilisation of JAKinibs, made by the regulatory authorities, Winthrop, et al. aim to put the O...

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Evaluation of response to 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccination in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving upadacitinib: results from a phase 2 open-label extension study

RMD Open. 2022;8(1):e002110 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002110

Vaccine sub-study of the BALANCE-EXTEND upadacitinib trial finds that approximately two-thirds of patients receiving upadacitinib 15 mg once-daily achieve a satisfactory humoral response to pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate (PCV-13) vaccine, despite receiving concomitant methotrexate (MTX).It is well known that a weakened immune response, comorbidities and immunosuppressant drug therapy all contribute to an increased susceptibility to infections in patients with RA. Likewise, the morbidity and mo...

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