A post hoc analysis of CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol) compared to the drug adalimumab for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients was presented at the November 2023 ACR Convergence in San Diego.
Medthority reports that the CIMZIA analysis focused on patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and elevated rheumatoid factor levels (RF).
Both drugs were compared for efficacy in the EXXELERATE clinical trial, but the endpoints of superiority did not meet expectations.
About Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
RA primarily affects hands and wrists, causing inflammation with common symptoms such as swelling, joint pain, and various degrees of deformity. The disease can also attack other body parts, including but not limited to, lungs, nerves, blood, and skin. Symptoms may develop over weeks or months.
In 2021, approximately 1.5 million individuals in the United States were living with RA.
The more destructive and aggressive form of the disease is High RF, an immune system protein that attacks the body’s healthy cells. High RF is often challenging to treat due to high levels of autoantibodies.
At the 12-week Evaluation
The post hoc analysis of patients with high levels of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across rheumatoid factor (RF) subgroups will be assessed later. At the twelfth week of evaluation, patients were randomized to either CIMZIA 200 and MTX or adalimumab 40 mg and classified as either non-responders or responders.
The non-responders were transferred to a TNFi group with a review at or about week 104. Note that a previous study recommended using TNFi if the disease is severe.
At week 104, the higher level of 65.7% of 453 RA patients treated with CIMZIA and 48.3% (n454) of RA patients who were treated with adalimumab were found to show low disease activity.
About the Results
Josef Smolen, Professor Emeritus at Vienna’s Rheumatology Division, commented that due to its structure, CIMZIA was able to continue therapeutic responses and blood concentrations despite varying Rheumatoid Factor levels.
Although the cause of RA has not been established, it has been suggested that it may involve environmental and genetic factors. All indications point to the underlying mechanism of an individual’s immune system attacking its joints. RA also affects cartilage and underlying bone.
