April 2024

Phase 3 studies comparing brodalumab with ustekinumab in psoriasis

N Engl J Med 2015;373:1318–28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1503824

Brodalumab treatment resulted in a rapid reduction in the signs and symptoms of PsO. The median time to a PASI 75 response with 210 mg of brodalumab Q2W was 4 weeks, approximately twice as fast as the median time to a response with ustekinumab.

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December 2015

Incidence and complications of interstitial lung disease in users of tocilizumab, rituximab, abatacept and anti-tumor necrosis factor α agents, a retrospective cohort study

Arthritis Research & Therapy (2015) 17:319 DOI: 10.1186/s13075-015-0835-7

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common extra-articular condition for RA patients. This retrospective cohort study of health insurance databases investigates the ILD incidence and exacerbation between ABA, TCZ, RTX, and anti-TNFα agents in adult RA patients with prior biologic therapy. Two definitions of ILD were used: one specific, one sensitive; descriptive results were produced for both. In patients with no history of ILD, the overall incidence rate of ILD ranged from 1.8% to 6.4% (depend...

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October 2015

Effectiveness of tocilizumab with and without synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: results from a European collaborative study

Ann Rheum Dis. 2015 Sep 15. doi:10.1136/ annrheumdis-2015-207760

Biological DMARDs have markedly changed the management and outcome of rheumatoid arthritis. Most international guidelines recommend the use of biological DMARDs in combination with MTX or other synthetic DMARDs (sDMARDs) (where MTX is not tolerated or contraindicated), based primarily on the observation that MTX enhances the efficacy of TNF antagonists in both clinical trials and observational studies.This study examined the effectiveness of tocilizumab (TCZ), an anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody, ...

Efficacy and safety of olokizumab in Asian patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, previously exposed to anti-TNF therapy: Results from a randomized phase II trial

Modern Rheumatology. 2015 Sep 10:1-9. [Epub ahead of print]

This Phase II study assessed the safety and efficacy of olokizumab in Asian patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, previously exposed to anti-TNF therapy. After 12 weeks of treatment, olokizumab was found to rapidly improve disease activity in patients who had previously failed anti-TNF therapy. There was also a significant decrease in ACR20 and ACR50 responder rates at week 12. The safety findings were consistent with the safety profile expected for this drug class. These findin...

Comparison of the efficacies of abatacept and tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by propensity score matching

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2015 Aug 5. doi:pii: annrheumdis-2015-207784. 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-207784. [Epub ahead of print]

This study compared the clinical outcomes at one year after the treatment either abatacept or tocilizumab in routine clinical practice. This study employed propensity score matching and demonstrated that abatacept and tocilizumab had comparable continuing efficacies, and that treatment with the drugs resulted in comparable clinical and functional remission rates. Additionally, abatacept and tocilizumab showed similar effectiveness with or without MTX.While clinical efficacies, including SDAI, w...

January 2015

Potential Mechanisms Leading to the Abnormal Lipid Profile in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Versus Healthy Volunteers and Reversal by Tofacitinib

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015;67(3):616-25.

Active RA is associated with changes in both high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol as well as changes in the level and function of several HDL-associated proteins, yet the pathways and mechanisms involved with systemic inflammation altered lipid metabolism have not been determined. In addition, treatments for active RA are known to modify lipid metabolism, such as increasing circulating cholesterol levels. In the clinical development programme, a proportion of tofacitinib-treated patien...

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Efficacy and Safety of Tofacitinib as Monotherapy in Japanese Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: A 12-Week, Randomized, Phase 2 Study

Mod Rheumatol. 2014 Dec 11:1–25. [Epub ahead of print]

In Japan, the biologic DMARDs infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, golimumab and certolizumab pegol, as well as tocilizumab and abatacept are approved for use in patients with active RA and an inadequate response to existing therapies. However, not all patients respond to these therapies adequately, creating an unmet need for therapeutic options with alternative mechanisms of action.

The oral JAK inhibitor tofacitinib has demonstrated efficacy as monotherapy or in combination with DMARDs ...

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IL-6 stimulates intestinal epithelial proliferation and repair after injury

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 5;9(12):e114195. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114195. eCollection 2014.

IL-6 is an inflammatory cytokine known to contribute to a number of autoimmune diseases such as RA. Therapies targeting the soluble IL-6 receptor have now become effective treatments for RA. However, one unforeseen, yet rare, potential complication of anti-IL-6 therapy is bowel perforation. Yet within the intestine, IL-6 protects intestinal epithelial cells from apoptosis during prolonged inflammation.

The authors hypothesized that IL-6 may have beneficial properties in wound response/rep...

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