July 2024

Mental health outcomes in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with bimekizumab: Analysis of Phase 2/3 randomized trials

J Am Acad Dermatol 2024;91:72–81 doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2024.02.039

Results of this analysis by Blauvelt, et al. showed a low adjudicated suicidal ideation and behaviour (SIB) rate of 0.13/100 patient-years for bimekizumab, consistent with general psoriasis population ranges. Bimekizumab did not increase the risk of SIB compared to other anti-IL-17A/anti-IL-23 therapies.

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Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor neutralisation in patients with axial spondyloarthritis in the UK (NAMASTE): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial

Lancet Rheumatol 2024:S2665-9913(24)00099-7 DOI 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00099-7 Epub ahead of print

Worth, et al. found that namilumab did not show efficacy compared with placebo in patients with active axSpA, but the treatment was generally well tolerated. An unusually high proportion of ASAS20 responders at Week 12 were observed in the placebo group, which had a small sample size compared to the namilumab arm.

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"I couldn't carry on taking a drug like that": A qualitative study of patient perspectives on side effects from rheumatology drugs

Journal Reference: Rheumatology 2024 Epub ahead of print

In the treatment of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), there is a need for feasible measures of patient-reported bother (impact on life and cumulative burden) from side effects and the benefit-harm-balance. Berthelsen et al. evaluated what with RMDs considered important to know about symptomatic side effects they may experience from a new prescription drug.

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Long-term safety and efficacy of upadacitinib versus adalimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: 5-year data from the Phase 3, randomised SELECT-COMPARE study

RMD Open 2024;10:e004007 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-004007

More RA patients on upadacitinib versus adalimumab achieved clinical remission, LDA, and DAS28 (CRP) <2.6. Radiographic progression was less with continuous upadacitinib versus continuous adalimumab. Upadacitinib showed similar safety to adalimumab, with higher incidences of HZ, lymphopenia, CPK elevation, hepatic disorder and nonmelanoma skin cancer.

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Efficacy and safety of filgotinib for the treatment of perianal fistulising Crohn’s disease [DIVERGENCE 2]: A Phase 2, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

J Crohns Colitis 2024;18:864–74 doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae003

Filgotinib (FIL) 200mg was associated with numerical reductions in the number of draining perianal fistulas based on combined clinical and MRI findings compared with placebo. Reinisch et al. reported a numerically higher proportion of patients achieving the primary endpoint of a combined fistula response and/or remission at Week 24 with FIL 200mg compared with placebo.

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Risankizumab induction therapy achieves early symptom improvements that are associated with future clinical and endoscopic outcomes in Crohn's disease: Post hoc analysis of the ADVANCE, MOTIVATE, and FORTIFY Phase 3 studies

J Crohns Colitis 2024;18:818–27 doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjad206

This post hoc analysis provides additional support for the utility of risankizumab therapy in patients with moderately to severely active CD. Investigators examined the efficacy of risankizumab for providing early symptom relief, along with the prognostic value of early symptom relief for achieving future clinical and endoscopic endpoints.

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Efficacy of brodalumab in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis after failure of previous biologic therapy: A phase 4, multicenter, open-label study

J Am Acad Dermatol 2024;90:1254–1256 doi 10.1016/j.jaad.2024.01.025

In this letter to the editor, Papp, et al. reported that brodalumab treatment in patients with psoriasis and an inadequate response to another biologic resulted in high rates of complete skin clearance with concurrent improvements in patient-reported outcomes after 26 weeks. The mean and median times to PASI 100 were 96.8 and 112 days, respectively.

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June 2024

Upadacitinib in active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis: 1-year data from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial

ACR Open Rheumatol 2024 doi: 10.1002/acr2.11669 Epub ahead of print

The 1-year results of the SELECT-AXIS 2 study showed significant improvements in ASAS40 achievement in patients with nr-axSpA that were treated with upadacitinib 15mg QD versus placebo. Improvements in ASDAS endpoints, back pain, BASFI, and hsCRP from baseline were also observed.

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Long-term clinical outcomes of certolizumab pegol treatment in non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis stratified by baseline MRI and CRP status

RMD Open 2024;10:e003884 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003884 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38724259/

The safety follow-up extension of the C-axSpAnd trial showed that long-term clinical outcomes from certolizumab pegol treatment achieved after 1 year were generally sustained at 3 years across MRI+/CRP+, MRI−/CRP+ and MRI+/CRP− subgroups.

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Adverse cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with JAK inhibitors: An analysis of postmarketing spontaneous safety reports

Semin Arthritis Rheum 2024;67:152461 doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152461 Epub ahead of print

Goldman, et al. conducted a pharmacovigilance study to evaluate the cardiovascular safety of JAK inhibitors in RA patients. The study demonstrated an increase in the reporting of VTE, stroke, and ischemic heart disease in patients treated with JAK inhibitor compared to bDMARDs, especially within the first year of treatment. This suggests a class effect of JAK inhibitors on cardiovascular risk, emphasising the need for ongoing surveillance and proactive cardiovascular risk management.

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