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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Five-year Efficacy and Safety of Tocilizumab Monotherapy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis who were Methotrexate- and Biologic-naïve or Free of Methotrexate for 6 Months: the AMBITION Study

J Rheumatol 2017;44:2. DOI 10.3899/jrheum.160287.

Results from the AMBITION study (Actemra versus Methotrexate double-Blind Investigate Trial In mONotherapy), showed the continuing efficacy and safety of tocilizumab up to 264 weeks.AMBITION was a 24-week randomised controlled trial in patients with active RA who were either MTX-naïve or MTX-free for 6 months prior to study entry. Patients received TCZ 8 mg/kg IV Q4W or oral MTX weekly (7.5 mg dose escalating to 20 mg). For those patients who then entered the long-term extension (LTE) study (N=1...

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Evaluation of Real-World Experience with Tofacitinib Compared with Adalimumab, Etanercept, and Abatacept in RA Patients with 1 Previous Biologic DMARD: Data from a U.S. Administrative Claims Database

J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2016 Dec;22(12):1457-1471.

Data were examined to compare patient characteristics, treatment patterns and costs in patients with RA receiving tofacitinib (TOF) or common bDMARDs (adalimumab [ADA], etanercept (ETN) or abatacept [ABA]) who had previously received a single bDMARD.This study analyses real-world data from two US claims databases between November 2012 and October 2014. Data were collected from a total of 1252 patients in the Truven Marketscan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases. Pre-index (12-months b...

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December 2016

Tofacitinib Versus Biologic Treatments in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis who have had an Inadequate Response to Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors: Results from a Network Meta-Analysis

Clin Ther 2016;38:2628–40.

This network meta-analysis, performed within a Bayesian framework, concluded that tofacitinib 5 mg BID has efficacy and AE rates comparable with currently available bDMARDs over a 24-week period in patients experiencing an inadequate response to TNF therapy. A systematic literature search identified five, Phase 2 or beyond, randomised controlled trials for inclusion in the analysis. Each trial had an adult population with moderate to severe RA, with inadequate response (IR) or failed treatment w...

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Biologic or Tofacitinib Monotherapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis in People with Traditional Disease-modifying Anti-rheumatic Drug (DMARD) Failure: a Cochrane Systematic Review and Network meta-analysis (NMA)

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;11:CD012437.

Treatment options for RA patients who are MTX/DMARD incomplete responders (IR) include other DMARDs, biologics or tofacitinib (TOF). However, there is a lack of direct head-to-head comparator trials of biologics in people with RA. This review provides an update of the 2009 Cochrane overview, ‘Biologics for rheumatoid arthritis’,1 and provides comparisons and estimates for biologic or TOF monotherapy in MTX/DMARD-IR people with RA.The benefits and harms of biologic monotherapy (TNFis: adalimumab,...

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Sarilumab and Non-biologic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in Patients with Active RA and Inadequate Response or Intolerance to TNF Inhibitors

Arthritis Rheumatol 2016. DOI:10.1002/art.39944.

In this Phase 3 study (TARGET) of TNF-IR patients, sarilumab plus csDMARD(s) demonstrated clinical efficacy and improvements in physical function versus placebo plus csDMARD(s).Patients (N=546) were randomised 1:1:1 to sarilumab 150 mg, 200 mg Q2W or placebo (all plus csDMARD[s]). Two co-primary endpoints versus placebo were investigated: ACR20 response rate at Week 24, and HAQ-DI change from baseline at Week 12.As well as improvements in ACR20 responses (33.7% vs 55.8 and 60.9%, for placebo, sa...

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Efficacy and Safety of Sarilumab Monotherapy versus Adalimumab Monotherapy for the Treatment of Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis (MONARCH): a Randomised, Double-blind, Parallel-group Phase III Trial

Ann Rheum Dis 2016. DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-210310

In this Phase 3 superiority study (MONARCH) of patients with active RA who should not continue treatment with MTX because of intolerance or inadequate response, sarilumab monotherapy demonstrated superior efficacy to adalimumab (ADA) monotherapy. Patients receiving sarilumab versus ADA also reported greater improvement in health status, including a trend towards greater improvement in fatigue.In this randomised, multicentre study, patients received sarilumab 200 mg Q2W plus placebo (n=184) or AD...

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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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Efficacy of VX-509 (decernotinib) in Combination with a Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drug in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Clinical and MRI Findings

Ann Rheum Dis 2016;75:1979–83

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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Baricitinib, Methotrexate, or Combination in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and no or Limited Prior Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drug Treatment

Arthritis Rheumatol 2016. DOI 10.1002/art.39953. Accepted article

In this 52-week study of patients receiving initial therapy for RA, baricitinib alone or in combination with MTX demonstrated superior efficacy compared with MTX alone.Patients naïve to csDMARD (no or <3 doses of MTX) or bDMARD were randomised 4:3:4 (N=588) toMTX QW, baricitinib 4 mg QD or baricitinib 4 mg QD + MTX QW. The primary endpoint assessment was noninferiority of baricitinib monotherapy to MTX based on ACR20 response at Week 24.Not only was the primary endpoint met, baricitinib monother...

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