March 2016

Tofacitinib or adalimumab versus placebo: patient-reported outcomes from a phase 3 study of active rheumatoid arthritis

Strand et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2016 Feb 29. doi:pii: kev442. [Epub ahead of print]

RA not only affects the physical aspects of a patient’s health but also has an impact on the psychological well-being causing a significant disease burden. This paper reports on the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from the ORAL Standard study. This study investigated tofacitinib 5mg BID, 10mg BID, adalimumab vs. placebo over 12 months with a primary endpoint at month 3. All treatment groups showed significant improvements over placebo in HAQ-DI, PtGA and Pain with LSM changes in baseline sustai...

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Clinical Relevance of VPAC1 Receptor Expression in Early Arthritis: Association with IL-6 and Disease Activity

 PLoS ONE 11(2): e0149141. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0149141

VPAC1 and VPAC2 both mediate anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory responses in RA. Both these are receptors of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a broadly distributed peptide found in neural, endocrine and immune cells, which triggers biological response when interacting with the aforementioned receptors. It has recently been described in Martinez et al. that those patients with low levels of VIP have worse disease outcome.1This study analyzed 250 blood samples from the Princesa early Arthr...

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Comparative effects of biologics on cardiovascular risk among older patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis 2016;0:1–6 doi:10.1136/ annrheumdis-2015-207870 [Epub ahead of print]

Since RA patients are at an increased risk of a CV event, there have been several studies to determine if RA treatments alter this risk. In a retrospective study, Zhang and colleagues assess the risk of CV events in patients initiating bDMARDs.Using Medicare medical and pharmacy claims data, the incidence rate (IR) of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and of a composite CHD* was calculated across RA patients initiating 8 different biologics: ABA, ADA, CER, ETA, GOL, INF, RIT, and TOC. There were...

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Pregnancy outcome after tocilizumab therapy in early pregnancy – a case series from the German Embryotox Pharmacovigilance Center

Reproductive Toxicology doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2016.01.002

MTX users have an increased incidence of spontaneous abortions (SABs) compared to baseline risk (42.5%1 vs. 13-17%2). Tocilizumab (TCZ) has been shown to have similar efficacy with or without MTX. There is currently limited data on the effect of TCZ on pregnancy, but with more safety data, TCZ could be an alternative for RA patients of reproductive age. The patients were enrolled at Embryotox Berlin, a pharmacovigilance center providing risk assessment during pregnancy, between 2011 and 2014 dur...

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Comparison of adding tocilizumab to methotrexate with switching to tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with inadequate response to methotrexate: 52-week results from a prospective, randomised, controlled study (SURPRISE study)

Ann Rheum Dis 2016 Jan 5 DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-208426 [Epub ahead of print

MTX is the primary drug in RA management because of its long-term effectiveness and safety profile; however, in patients who have insufficient response (IR) to MTX, treatment adjustments are needed – either to combine a bDMARD with MTX or to switch to a bDMARD from MTX. In the SURPRISE study, the efficacy and safety of adding TCZ to MTX (ADD-ON) or switching MTX to TCZ (SWITCH) was evaluated in 233 patients with moderate to highly active RA who were randomised 1:1. Both treatment groups were adm...

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Impact of obesity on the clinical outcome of rheumatologic patients in biotherapy

Autoimmunity Reviews Doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2016.01.010

Obesity is increasingly becoming a public health concern as its prevalence continues to grow in the United States and Western nations. Obesity has been shown to be an inflammatory condition that impacts multiple tissues and systems, including the immune system possibly linking to rheumatic diseases. In this review, Iannone et al overview the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of PsA and/or RA patients with comorbid obesity.Large cohort and prospective studies in Italy, the US, and the UK have s...

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Early changes in blood-based joint tissue destruction biomarkers are predictive of response to tocilizumab in the LITHE study

Arthritis Research & Therapy (2016) 18:13 DOI: 10.1186/s13075-015-0913-x

One of the major challenges of RA treatment is choosing the correct treatment and dose for the individual patient, as treatment response can be heterogeneous. To help select the appropriate treatment, there is a need for effective and non-invasive ways to monitor disease activity and progression. In the LITHE study, Bay-Jensen et al. investigate whether early biomarker measurements could predict early joint protection response to TCZ. The biomarkers (CRPM, VICM, C1M, C2M, C3M, and CTX-I/OC [bone...

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April 2015

Sarilumab plus methotrexate in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and inadequate response to methotrexate: Results of a phase III study

Arthritis Rheumatol. Vol. 67, No. 6, June 2015, pp 1424–1437

Biologic DMARDs targeting TNF-alpha, IL-1, T-cell co-stimulatory blockade, B-cell depletion, and IL-6R, as well as the newer JAK inhibitors have greatly improved clinical outcomes in RA. However, not all patients respond to current biologic or small molecule DMARDs.

Sarilumab is a fully human anti-IL-6Rα mAb that binds membrane-bound and soluble human IL-6R with high affinity, blocking cis and trans IL-6-mediated signalling. This study (MOBILITY) is the first randomised, double-blin...

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March 2015

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Twelve-Week, Dose-Ranging Study of Decernotinib, an Oral Selective JAK-3 Inhibitor, as Monotherapy in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(2):334–343.

Decernotinib (VX-509; Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated) is a JAK 3 inhibitor currently under investigation for its potential use in the treatment of RA. The potency and selectivity profiles of this oral compound have already been established in previous trials, so this study aimed to establish the efficacy and safety profiles of the drug, in RA patients who have had an inadequate response to at least one DMARD.

Four doses; 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg and 150 mg, were evaluated in this placebo...

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A small-molecule inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome for the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Nat Med. 2015 Feb 16. doi: 10.1038/nm.3806. [Epub ahead of print]

A team of scientists at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Queensland Australia, led by Professor Luke O'Neill, have identified a key molecule that may result in the development of new anti-inflammatory therapies for diseases such as: cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS), multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and atherosclerosis.

Professor O'Neill and his team have identified MCC950 as a potent, selective, small-molecule inhibitor of the NLRP3 infla...

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