April 2018

Effect of Filgotinib, a Selective JAK1 Inhibitor, with or without Methotrexate in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Patient-Reported Outcomes

Arthritis Res Ther 2018; 20(1):57 doi: 10.1186/s13075-018-1541-z

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from two, Phase 2b, filgotinib (FIL) studies, DARWIN 1 and 2, revealed that patients receiving FIL had improved and sustained PRO responses compared with placebo. With suboptimal RA treatment, patients lose joint functional ability, which heavily influences patient quality of life. The previously reported data from the DARWIN studies, concluded that patients given FIL achieved clinically relevant dose-dependent improvements compared with patients given placebo¹,²...

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March 2018

Response to Baricitinib based on Prior Biologic Use in Patients with Refractory Arthritis

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2018 May; 57(5):900-908

Baricitinib (BARI) 2 or 4 mg had a beneficial treatment effect on patients with moderate to severe RA compared with placebo (PBO), irrespective of the number or nature of prior patient bDMARD use. The current therapeutic target for patients with established RA is low disease activity, but many patients fail to achieve this due to inadequate responses to DMARD therapies. With this patient population growing, therapies for these patients are considered one of the greatest unmet needs in RA. This s...

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February 2018

Professor Iain McInnes Reviews the Most Important Papers from 2017

Please click the links below to go to the CSF review of each paper.

2017 was a successful year for rheumatoid arthritis research, with some key advances in JAK inhibitors and IL-6 inhibitors, as outlined below. - Tofacitinib was suggested as a potential treatment for psoriatic arthritis, and NICE recommended tofacitinib as a treatment for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis - Baricitinib studies supported the potential use of baricitinib as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis - Filgotinib Phase 2 studies suggested that filgotinib could be effective a...

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October 2017

Transaminase Levels and Hepatic Events During Tocilizumab Treatment: Pooled Analysis of Long-Term Clinical Trial Safety Data in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017 Sep;69(9):1751-1761. doi: 10.1002/art.40176

In this pooled analysis investigating liver enzyme abnormalities and hepatic adverse events (AEs) during long-term tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment for RA in clinical trials, although transaminase elevations were frequent, rates of hepatic serious AEs remained low. Data were pooled from patients who received ≥1 dose of IV TCZ with or without DMARDs in Phase 3 or 4 clinical trials, long-term extensions, and a pharmacology study.A total of 4171 patients were included in the all-exposure population with...

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September 2017

Safety and Efficacy of Baricitinib through 128 Weeks in an Open-label, Longterm Extension Study in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

J Rheumatol. 2018 Jan;45(1):14-21. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.161161

This open-label extension (OLE) of a Phase 2b randomised controlled trial (RCT) found that safety data collected over 2 years of treatment were generally consistent with previous findings for baricitinib in RA.In the RCT, baricitinib demonstrated significant improvement in disease activity compared with placebo and an acceptable safety profile in patients with RA and an inadequate response to MTX. Patients who completed the 24-week double-blind period of the study were eligible for the OLE. Rate...

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March 2017

Efficacy and Safety of ABT-494, a Selective JAK-1 Inhibitor, in a Phase IIb Study in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and an Inadequate Response to Methotrexate

Arthritis Rheumatol 2016;68:2857–66

The summary and accompanying slide deck have been developed in conjunction with the Kremer et al. study (Study 2) which examined ABT-494 in TNF-IR patients in order to compare and contrast the data. In these two Phase 2b studies, ABT-494 (a novel selective JAK-1 inhibitor) was shown to be effective in patients with active RA who were non-responders to MTX or at least one TNF inhibitor.Patients with active RA who had an inadequate response to MTX (study 1) or were refractory to or intolerant of p...

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February 2017

Peficitinib, a JAK Inhibitor, in Combination with Limited Conventional Synthetic DMARDs in the Treatment of Moderate-to-severe Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatol DOI 10.1002/art.40054. Accepted article.

In this Phase 2b study in patients with moderate to severe RA, once-daily peficitinib in combination with limited csDMARDs reduced the symptoms of RA, demonstrated adose-dependent ACR20 response rate over 12 weeks, and showed acceptable tolerability. This 12-week study included patients who had an inadequate response or intolerance to csDMARDs (N=289). Patients were randomised 1:1:1:1:1 to peficitinib 25-, 50-, 100, 150 mg or matching placebo. Statistically significant differences in the ACR20 r...

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January 2017

Effects of Baricitinib on Lipid, Apolipoprotein, and Lipoprotein Particle Profiles in a Phase 2b Study in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatol 2017. DOI 10.1002/art.40036.

In this analysis of the effect of baricitinib on changes in lipid profile, lipoprotein particle size and apolipoprotein content, increases in serum lipids were observed with HDL-C increases correlating with improved clinical outcomes.Eligible patients (N=301) met the inclusion criteria for the Phase 2b randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.1 Patients were assigned in a 2:1:1:1:1 ratio to once-daily doses of placebo or baricitinib 1, 2, 4, or 8 mg, respectively. Those receiving 2 mg,...

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December 2016

Peficitinib, a JAK Inhibitor, in the Treatment of Moderate-to-severe Rheumatoid Arthritis in Methotrexate-inadequate Responders

Arthritis & Rheum 2016; ePub ahead of print

This Phase 2b study of peficitinib (ASP015K), an orally administered once-daily JAK inhibitor, plus MTX, demonstrated efficacy across multiple secondary endpoints with higher peficitinib doses. Peficitinib in combination with MTX was well tolerated with a safety profile that was consistent with previous studies.A high placebo response rate was seen in both Latin and North America, when patient data were stratified. This high placebo rate is problematic for the accurate interpretation of peficit...

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October 2016

Sarilumab plus Methotrexate Improves Patient-reported Outcomes in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inadequate Responses to Methotrexate: Results of a Phase III Trial

Arthritis Res Ther 2016; 18:198. DOI.10.1186/s13075-016-9

Evidence is presented that treatment with sarilumab improves patient-reported outcomes (PROs). These improvements complement the clinical efficacy previously reported for sarilumab.Data were analysed from the 52-week Phase 3 MOBILITY randomised controlled trial in adult patients with active RA and previous inadequate response to MTX. Patients received subcutaneous placebo or sarilumab 150 mg or 200 mg every 2 weeks in combination with MTX, for 52 weeks.PROs assessed were: Patient Global Assessme...

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