New Drug Linked to Long-Term Improvements in Rheumatoid Arthritis

A new drug effectively improves patient-reported outcomes for up to 48 weeks in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who have failed tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapy, according to results reported at the European League Against Rheumatism’s 17th Annual Meeting of the European Congress of Rheumatology.

Olokizumab, an investigational, humanized monoclonal antibody, specifically targets cytokine interleukin 6, a mediator of inflammation.
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The researchers analyzed patient-reported outcomes of participants enrolled in a phase 2 randomized, controlled trial and its open-label extension. The participants had moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and had taken 12.5 to 25 mg/wk of methotrexate for at least 6 weeks. All participants had failed tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapy.

In the original phase 2 trial, patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 9 treatment regimens: placebo every 4 weeks or every 2 weeks, plus methotrexate; tocilizumab (8 mg/kg) every 4 weeks, plus methotrexate; or olokizumab (60, 120, or 240 mg) every 2 or 4 weeks, plus methotrexate.

Following the trial, 190 patients participated in the extension phase, during which they were given olokizumab (120 mg every 2 wk) plus methotrexate.

After 12 weeks, patient-reported improvements in individuals taking olokizumab were larger than those reported by individuals taking placebo and similar to those observed in patients taking tocilizumab.

Changes in individuals taking olokizumab were maintained to week 48 in both patients who had received olokizumab in the original trial and the extension and those who had received tocilizumab in the original trial followed by olokizumab in the extension. Those who switched from placebo in the original trial to olokizumab in the extension also saw improvements.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Durez P. Improvements in patient-reported outcomes with olokizumab treatment in patients with active, moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis who had failed previous anti-TNF therapy: results from the RA0056 double-blind, randomized controlled study, and RA0057, its open-label extension. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016); June 11, 2016; London, England.