June 2020

Temporary Interruption of Baricitinib: Characterization of Interruptions and Effect on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arth Res Ther 2020;22:115 doi.org/10.1186/s13075-020-02199-8

This study aimed to characterize temporary interruptions of baricitinib and describe their impact on efficacy and safety. Brief interruptions during phase 3 baricitinib trials were associated with minor increases in symptoms which were resolved following treatment. In life-long, chronic conditions such as RA, interruption of therapy is common for various reasons, such as side effects, non-compliance, or because a patient requires surgery. Concerns have been raised that these treatment breaks cou...

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Safety Profile of Baricitinib For the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis Over a Median of 3 Years of Treatment: An Updated Integrated Safety Analysis

Lancet Rheumatol 2020;2:e347–57

RA is a chronic, life-long disease requiring long-term treatment. As such, it is important to understand the long-term safety profile of DMARDs. In this analysis, baricitinib maintained a stable safety profile during long-term exposure. This baricitinib safety analysis included integrated data from nine Phase 3, 2, and 1b clinical trials, and one long-term extension, with data up to 360 weeks. 3700 patients were included, with maximum follow-up of almost 7 years – representing an additional 3,54...

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May 2020

Evaluation of Hepatitis B Virus in Clinical Trials of Baricitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis

RMD Open 2020;6:e001095

Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation was seen in patients with RA treated with DMARDs, including BARI, who had serology suggestive of prior infection, reactivation was transient even with continued BARI treatment and did not account for any clinically relevant AEs.Reactivation of HBV replication is a recognised complication in patients receiving biologic agents for RA, such as DMARDs. Limited data exist on prevalence of occult infection and the incidence of reactivation in RA patients t...

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February 2020

EULAR Recommendations for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis – 2019 Update and Consensus Statement on JAKinibs

Ann Rheum Dis. 2020 Jan 22. pii: annrheumdis-2019-216655.

The EULAR recommendations for the management of RA have become increasingly useful in providing rheumatologists, patients, payers and other stakeholders with the evidence-based guidance and views of experts on the optimal use and sequence of pharmaceutical therapies in patients with RA. Over the course of the last decade, the evolution of the treatment landscape has already required two updates. The release of the new addition updates the 2016 recommendations.An international task force consider...

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December 2019

Highlights of 2019

Please click the links below to go to the CSF review of each paper

2019 was another remarkable year in cytokine signalling. We can be optimistic that clinical practice for inflammatory arthritis will continue to improve, with promising long-term safety data supporting the use of established JAK inhibitors; tofacitinib and baricitinib, in addition to exciting phase III clinical data for filgotinib and newly approved upadacitinib. You can find the most notable papers, as selected by CSF Steering Committee Chair Professor Iain McInnes, with links to their respecti...

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June 2019

Upadacitinib as Monotherapy in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inadequate Response to Methotrexate (SELECT-MONOTHERAPY): A Randomised, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Phase 3 Study

Lancet. 2019 Jun 8;393(10188):2303-2311

UPA monotherapy showed statistically significant improvements in clinical and functional outcomes versus continuing MTX in MTX inadequate-responder patients with RA. Despite its proven effectiveness and safety, many patients are unable to tolerate MTX due to its side-effects. Therapies that can be used without concomitant MTX therefore, have an important place in RA management. In previous studies, UPA has shown efficacy in combination with stable background csDMARDs in RA patients who are DMARD...

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March 2019

Safety Profile of Baricitinib in Japanese Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis with Over 1.6 Years Median Time in Treatment: An Integrated Analysis of Phase 2 and 3 Trials

Mod Rheumatol. 2019 Feb 20:1-23. DOI: 10.1080/14397595.2019.1583711

In this integrated analysis, BARI showed an acceptable safety profile in Japanese patients with up to 3.2 years of exposure. Other than incidences of herpes zoster (HZ), no major differences were noted with BARI safety in Japanese patients with RA, compared to the patients in the integrated database.BARI has previously demonstrated significant clinical efficacy and acceptable safety. Japanese patients who participated in the BARI clinical development programme, were comparable to those from the ...

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October 2018

Dose Reduction of Baricitinib in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Achieving Sustained Disease Control: Results of a Prospective Study

Ann Rheum Dis. 2019 Feb;78(2):171-178. DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-213271

In active RA patients, with an inadequate response (IR) to DMARDs who achieve low disease activity (LDA) following baricitinib (BARI) 4 mg treatment, disease control is better maintained with continued BARI 4 mg compared to tapering to 2 mg.The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of BARI tapering in patients achieving sustained disease control with BARI 4 mg.In the long-term extension study RA-BEYOND, patients receiving BARI 4 mg who achieved sustained LDA or remission at two c...

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June 2018

Long-term Radiographic and Patient-reported Outcomes in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Tofacitinib: ORAL Start and ORAL Scan Post-hoc Analyses

Rheumatol Ther. 2018 Dec;5(2):341-353. doi: 10.1007/s40744-018-0113-7

Tofacitinib (TOF) therapy reduced the progression of structural joint damage at 2 years, in patients of all disease states, compared with patients given methotrexate (MTX). Early intervention with DMARDs aim to prevent the development of future RA symptoms and inhibit the progression of structural damage to the joints. This post-hoc analysis uses data from two Phase 3 TOF studies, to examine the efficacy of early intervention with TOF on long-term radiographic outcomes and disease activity state...

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March 2018

Response to Baricitinib based on Prior Biologic Use in Patients with Refractory Arthritis

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2018 May; 57(5):900-908

Baricitinib (BARI) 2 or 4 mg had a beneficial treatment effect on patients with moderate to severe RA compared with placebo (PBO), irrespective of the number or nature of prior patient bDMARD use. The current therapeutic target for patients with established RA is low disease activity, but many patients fail to achieve this due to inadequate responses to DMARD therapies. With this patient population growing, therapies for these patients are considered one of the greatest unmet needs in RA. This s...

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