March 2024

Abatacept inhibits inflammation and onset of rheumatoid arthritis in individuals at high risk (ARIAA): A randomised, international, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Lancet 2024;403(10429):850–859 doi 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02650-8

This study by Rech, et al. shows that 6-month treatment with abatacept was associated with a decrease in MRI inflammation, clinical symptoms, and risk of RA development in participants at high risk. The effects of the intervention persist through a 1-year drug-free observation phase.

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July 2023

A JAK Inhibitor for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Baricitinib Experience

J. Clin. Med. 2023;12(13):4527 doi 10.3390/jcm12134527

This review by Taylor, et al. reviews the long-term safety and efficacy data for baricitinib. Results from several studies showed that baricitinib has greater efficacy and survival compared to TNF inhibitors, and that the rate of CDAI <10 for baricitinib-treated RA patients increased over the course of seven years. Data also showed that remission rates were higher in real-world evidence than in RCTs.

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September 2022

Olokizumab versus Placebo or Adalimumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis

N Engl J Med. 2022;387(8):715–726. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2201302

Phase 3 trial of olokizumab, a direct inhibitor of the IL-6 ligand, demonstrates superiority to placebo with respect to an ACR20 response at week 12 and noninferiority to adalimumab (all combined with methotrexate), in patients with RA.

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Assessment of the association of baseline anti-CarbV and anti-MCV antibodies with response to treatment and radiographic progression in an RA population treated with either methotrexate or baricitinib: post-hoc analyses from RA-BEGIN

Arthritis Res Ther. 2020;22(1):193

Autoantibodies associated with the onset of RA have gained attention in recent years as prognostic biomarkers. Though not used diagnostically, anti-CarbV (carbamylated vimentin) and anti-MCV (vimentin modified by citrullination) baseline titers are being investigated as predictors of treatment response. In this post-hoc analysis of data from the RA-BEGIN cohort of active RA patients, López-Romero and colleagues consider the potential predictive values of baseline anti-CarbV and anti-MCV titers r...

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January 2014

Emerging cell and cytokine targets in rheumatoid arthritis

Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2013. doi:10.1038/nrrheum.2013.168

Despite major progress in the treatment of RA over the past decade, sustained clinical remission remains elusive. The identification of new treatment targets is therefore necessary, with much research currently being undertaken in this area. Novel therapeutic approaches currently being investigated include T cell-directed therapies targeting both T cell activation and regulation; and the targeting of pathogenic B cell functions, including the use of depleting and non-depleting B cell-directed an...

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June 2013

Small molecules targeting JAKs—a new approach in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatology 2013: doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kes417

This article focuses on the development of new small molecular inhibitors of Janus kinases (Jaks) in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Of these, tofacitinib is at the most advanced stage of its clinical development and this article includes an overview of the results from the main tofacitinib clinical trials to date. These include the ORAL-Start study in methotrexate (MTX)-naïve patients; ORAL-Scan in inadequate responders to MTX; ORAL-Solo and ORAL-Sync in inadequate responders to ...

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