Bimekizumab was more efficacious than ustekinumab and placebo in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Previous bimekizumab Phase 2 clinical studies have shown both rapid and durable clinical improvements in skin clearance, as well as a safety profile in line with expectations from this MoA. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in moderate to severe plaque PsO over 1 year compared with both placebo and ustekinumab.

December 2021

Integrated analysis evaluates the safety of filgotinib among patients with RA treated for a median of 1.6 years.Winthrop, et al. analysed data from seven trials, including long-term extension studies, and found that rates of TEAEs, grade ≥3 TEAEs, serious TEAEs and TEAEs leading to study drug discontinuation were comparable for filgotinib and placebo. In addition, analysis of AEs of special interest showed a generally similar incidence for filgotinib 200 mg and 100 mg....

November 2021

Analysis of data from the highest level of patient exposure to baricitinib across the spectrum of the RA population demonstrates that baricitinib maintained a similar safety profile to earlier analyses, with no new safety signals identified.Using integrated data from nine randomised controlled trials, Taylor, et al. assessed the safety of baricitinib 2 mg and 4 mg once-daily. Analysis of data from 3770 patients (median 4.6 years, up to 9.3 years) with active RA showed that baricitinib maintained...
Analysis of data over 56 weeks shows that efficacy responses are maintained with upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg.Following the publication of 12-week data from the Phase III, randomised double-blind, SELECT-PsA 1 study, earlier this year, McInnes, et al. now report the 56-week efficacy and safety data of upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg in patients with PsA and an inadequate response to non-biological therapyEfficacy responses and inhibition of radiographic progression were maintained with upadacitinib...

October 2021

Propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting shows that efficacy may differ between tofacitinib and baricitinib. Miyazaki, et al. compared the efficacy and safety of the two JAK inhibitors in real-world clinical practice, after reduction to a minimum of the selection bias, using propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting, and adjustment for confounding patient characteristics. They found that tofacitinib may be less effective in patients resistant to m...
Tofacitinib could induce Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in RA patients.With previous studies having already demonstrated that RA patients using biologic agents, might experience HBV reactivation leading to acute hepatitis, hyperbilirubinemia, and death, Wang, et al. aimed to investigate HBV reactivation in patients with RA receiving tofacitinib. They found that Hepatitis B surface antigen positive patients receiving tofacitinib have a high incidence rate of HBV reactivation, which could be...

September 2021

Post hoc analysis of the phase III FINCH study shows that filgotinib may be an alternative treatment option for patients with RA who have poor prognostic factors (PPFs), especially those not responding to standard treatment such as methotrexate (MTX).PPFs are associated with severe disease and risk for disease progression in patients with RA. Consequently, the 2019 EULAR management guidelines for RA recommend early treatment escalation for patients with PPFs who have inadequate response to first...

August 2021

Findings from a descriptive clinical case report from clinical trials show that patients with RA, treated with baricitinib, are at low risk to developing non-infectious interstitial lung disease (ILD) during treatment.Salvarani, et al. used a descriptive, multicentric, retrospective cohort study of eight randomised trials and one long-term extension study to estimate the number of incident ILD cases reported. Their findings showed that the risk of developing non-infectious ILD during baricitinib...

June 2021

Findings from a multicentre cohort study in Japan provide important information that is expected to aid in determining the position of tofacitinib in the treatment algorithm for RA.Mori S, et al. compared therapeutic outcomes, from real-world registries, at 12 months between tofacitinib-treated and tocilizumab-treated patients to clarify whether tofacitinib should only be considered as an option for patients who have either failed to respond to at least one bDMARD or are MTX-resistant/-intoleran...
Baricitinib 4mg may be considered for long-term treatment of early and refractory rheumatoid arthritis following results demonstrating efficacy and tolerability for up to 3 years.Smolen JS, et al. analysed data from two completed 52-week, phase III studies, RA-BEGIN (DMARD-naïve) and RA-BEAM (MTX-IR), and one ongoing long-term extension study (RA-BEYOND) – providing data for 148 weeks in total. Results demonstrated that the long-term maintenance of clinically relevant treatment goals, including ...