Axial Spondyloarthritis Patients See Sustained Benefit with Certolizumab Pegol

According to researchers’ reports, early rapid improvements in the symptoms and signs of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA)  in people treated with certolizumab pegol are preserved for 4 years. Together with his colleagues, Dr. Desiree van der Heijde, with LUMC in the Netherlands, investigated the results at week 204 in patients who either received placebo, or certolizumab pegol, as part of phase III RAPID axial spondyloarthritis trial. The group has consisted of patients with non-radiographic-axSpA and radiographic axSpA. Former reports have proved that the drug used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis- certolizumab pegol, is safe and effective over 96 weeks of treatment. The updated discoveries from the study which involved 325 patients were presented by the researchers in June at the 17^th Annual Meeting of the European Congress of Rheumatology – EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) in the U.K. The chronic inflammatory disease axial spondyloarthritis is characterized by inflammation of the spine and sacroiliac joints, causing chronic back pain. The treatments for axial spondyloarthritis must succeed to control the symptoms and signs of the disease in the long run with acceptable tolerability, because of its chronicity. Nowadays pharmacologic treatments include NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and a restricted number of anti-TNF drugs (anti-tumor necrosis factor drugs). Therefore, additional options for treatment are required.

Improvements Were Preserved at Week 204

The RAPID axial spondyloarthritis study was placebo-controlled and double-blind to the 24^th week, dose-blind to the 48^th week, and open-label to the 204^th week. The participants in the study had adult-onset axial spondyloarthritis for 3 months at a minimum and a failed former treatment with at least one non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. During the open-label period, the participants who were initially given certolizumab pegol kept taking their assigned dose. According to the results, the percentage of participants who showed at least 20% change in the ASAS 20 (Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis Response Criteria) at the 24^th week, remained the same in the 204^th week. Moreover, the percentage of participants achieving Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis Response Criteria 40 (ASAS40) at the 24^th week remained the same at the 204^th week. Other analyses discovered that the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index-linear, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, and enthesitis also remained the same throughout the follow-up. AS and nr-axSpA patients showed similar improvements, as well as the 2 tested certolizumab pegol dosing regimens. The data didn’t show any new safety signal from the 96^th to the 204^th week, and there weren’t any deaths reported over four years. Via Medical News Today