JAK Inhibition as a Therapeutic Strategy for Immune and Inflammatory Diseases

Nat Rev Drug Discov 2017;16:843–62 DOI: 10.1038/nrd.2017.201

Janus kinases (JAKs) are essential mediators of downstream signaling pathways in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. This review summarizes current clinical data on first- and second-generation JAK inhibitors (jakinibs) and discusses their use for the treatment of immune and inflammatory conditions.First generation jakinibs such as tofacitinib, baricitinib, and ruxolitinib, non-selectively inhibit JAK-dependent pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are major contributors to immunopathology. T...

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March 2017

This multi-database population-based US cohort study found no evidence of an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk among RA patients who switched from a different biologic drug or tofacitinib to tocilizumab (TCZ) versus to a TNF inhibitor (TNFi).The study used claims data in patients with RA newly starting treatment with TCZ or a TNFi from three large databases: Medicare (n=7397), PharMetrics (n=8119) and MarketScan (n=12512). Included within the analysis were 9218 TCZ initiators propensity-score m...

January 2017

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,...