Bimekizumab was superior to placebo in achieving ACR, MDA, and PASI outcomes and had an acceptable safety profile. This meta-analysis also showed that 160mg and 320mg doses of bimekizumab were both superior to placebo in achieving these outcome measures.

The 5-year benefit-risk profile for upadacitinib in RA remains favourable, with clinical outcomes improved or maintained through Week 260. No new safety findings were identified during the LTE. Results remained consistent with earlier analyses of SELECT-NEXT.

Risk of composite CV endpoints combining all ischaemic CV events and heart failure were similar for individual and combined TOF doses versus TNFi. The totality of CV risk (MACE-8 plus VTE) was higher with TOF 10mg twice daily versus TNFi. Buch et al conducted a post-hoc analysis on the ORAL Surveillance trial to assess risk across extended MACE endpoints in RA patients treated with either TOF 5mg, TOF 10mg, or TNFi.

April 2024

Risankizumab therapy was associated with significant and sustained improvement in multiple disease domains from Week 52 through Week 100, compared with placebo. Kristensen et al. investigated the safety, efficacy and tolerability of 100-week risankizumab therapy in PsA patients with previous inadequate response to ≥1 csDMARD, using data from KEEPsAKE 1 trial.

Risk of venous thromboembolism with tofacitinib versus tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in cardiovascular risk-enriched rheumatoid arthritis patients

Arthritis Rheumatol 2024 doi: 10.1002/art.42846 Epub ahead of print https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38481002/

This post hoc analysis of ORAL Surveillance showed that incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) events was higher in patients with RA treated with tofacitinib (10>5mg BID) versus TNFi. Across treatments, VTE risk factors (age, BMI, and VTE history) were aligned with previous studies in the general RA population.

The results of the meta-analysis show that TNFi, IL-17i, and JAK inhibitor treatments significantly improved sacroiliac joint SPARCC scores in patients with axSpA or AS at Weeks 12–16. However, there were no significant differences in mean improvement between the treatment groups.

March 2024

Incident rates of TEAEs were comparable for patients with PsO, PsA, and axSpA and did not increase with prolonged ixekizumab (IXE) treatment. Deodhar, et al. presented the final update on the long-term safety of IXE up to 6 years in PsO patients and up to 3 years in PsA and axSpA patients. Exposure-adjusted incident rates were calculated using patient data (TEAEs, SAEs, selected AEs) from 25 clinical trials.

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February 2024

Efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis: update for the practising clinician

Nat Rev Rheumatol 2024;20(2):101–115 DOI: 10.1038/s41584-023-01062-9

The observed benefit:risk ratio strongly favours JAKi use in the majority of patients, and HCPs should consider and adhere to guidance on high-risk patients where applicable. Szekanecz et al summarised the safety and efficacy of approved JAKis tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib to aid in clinical decision making.

This real-world study by Kim, et al. found no significant relationship between continued JAK inhibitor therapy in patients with IMIDs and the risk of subsequent recurrent HZ reactivation. They also found no significant difference in the number of days patients were treated for HZ in the JAK inhibitor continuation and discontinuation groups.

Therapeutic intervention during the at-risk phase of RA with abatacept is feasible, with acceptable safety profiles. However, the efficacy of intermittent administration at multiple intervals remains to be assessed.