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,...

December 2016

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...
This Phase 2b study of VX-509 (decernotinib), a selective JAK3 inhibitor, showed that VX-509 in combination with stable DMARD therapy was effective for improving synovitis and osteitis as assessed by MRI in patients who had an inadequate response to DMARD therapy.Patients were randomised to treatment groups receiving either placebo, VX-509 100 mg, 200 mg or300 mg for 12 weeks. Minimum inclusion criteria included Grade ≥2 clinical synovitis in either the wrist or two metacarpophalangeal joints. A...

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August 2016

This dose-ranging study evaluated the efficacy of the novel, selective JAK1 inhibitor ABT-494 versus placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe RA and inadequate response (IR) to MTX.In this 12-week, randomised, double-blind study (BALANCE II), the efficacy and safety ofABT-494 dosed at 3mg, 6 mg, 12 mg, 18 mg (all twice daily) and 24 mg (once daily) was assessed. Patients included had not received prior biologic therapy.Of the 299 patients included in the analysis, the proportions of patients ...

May 2016

Encouraging results have been seen with clazakizumab in RA, but the results of anti-IL6 therapy in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have so far been unclear. This Phase 2b dose-ranging study examined the efficacy and safety of clazakizumab given subcutaneously q4w, with or without MTX, in 165 patients with PsA who had inadequate response to NSAIDs.ACR20 response at Week 16, the primary endpoint, was significantly higher in patients receiving clazakizumab 100 mg compared with placebo (52.4...

September 2015

The humanised monoclonal antibody, Clazakizumab (CLZ), binds to circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine rather than the IL-6 receptor, blocking both classical and trans-signalling. The purpose of this phase 2B study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of clazakizumab in patients with inadequate response to methotrexate (MTX). Data on selected response rates – ACR20/50/70, DAS28-CRP, SDAI ≤3.3, CDAI ≤2.8 and the ACR/EULAR Boolean definition – and adverse events were collected from 418 patie...

June 2013

This article reviews data from animal and phase 2 clinical studies assessing the immunomodulatory effects and pharmacokinetics of CP-690,550 (now known as tofacitinib), as well as its efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In two rodent models of arthritis, CP-690,550 produced dose-dependent decreases in signs of disease activity compared with untreated controls, reductions in histologically assessed inflammation and articular cartilage damage, and statistically signific...

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This study was one of two 24-week, phase 2b studies undertaken to characterise the efficacy and safety dose-response profile of the oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib. Six doses of tofacitinib (20 mg daily and 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 mg twice daily) and placebo were compared as add-on therapy in adults with active RA despite methotrexate (MTX) therapy. At week 12, ACR 20 response rates were significantly higher with all tofacitinib doses than with placebo (tofacitinib 45.7–58.1%; 33% place...