Assessing maintenance of remission with reduced dose etanercept plus methotrexate, methotrexate alone, or placebo in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis who achieved remission with etanercept and methotrextate: The prize study

Background During Phase 1 of the 52 wk open-label PRIZE study treatment of patients (pts) with early (mean 6 mos.) moderate-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), who were methotrexate (MTX)/biologic naïve, with 50 mg etanercept (ETN) + 10-25 mg MTX yielded a 70% remission rate with no significant radiographic progression.1 Pts achieving remission in Phase I were randomized to a double-blind 39-wk period of reduced (25mg) ETN + MTX or withdrawn (MTX alone or placebo, PBO) therapy (PRIZE Phase 2). Objectives To assess sustained remission (DAS28 and ACR/EULAR Boolean [AEB]), other clinical, radiographic, and safety outcomes in pts subsequently treated with reduced dose ETN or PBO after remission induction during PRIZE Phase 1. Methods Pts achieving DAS28 remission by wk 52 (≤3.2 at wk 39, <2.6 at wk 52) in Phase 1 (n=193) were randomized 1:1:1 to ETN25

/MTX:

MTX + PBO injection: PBO capsules + PBO injection at wk 52. Pts with DAS28>3.2 (> low disease activity, LDA) received corticosteroid boosts at wks 56 or 64; pts not achieving LDA at the next visit withdrew. Remission and other standard clinical outcomes were assessed. Odds ratios and significance were determined by logistic regression models. Results ETN/MTX resulted in a significantly higher proportion of pts in sustained and AEB remission than MTX alone or PBO. More ETN/MTX treated pts achieved DAS28 LDA than PBO. Over Phase 2 radiographic progression (mTSS >0.5) occurred in <12% of pts, with no significant difference between treatment arms; at Phase 1 baseline the mTSS scores were 8.06, 8.46 and 7.59 for ETN25/MTX, MTX and PBO, with changes of 0.44, -0.5 and 1.41 by last observations in Phase 2 (LOCF), indicating no clinically relevant radiographic progression in any of these treatment groups ETN/MTX treatment resulted in more pts achieving ACR50 and 70 than PBO. There were no unexpected safety findings Conclusions of the moderate-severe early RA pts achieving DAS28 remission during a 52 wk induction (50 mg ETN/MTX in PRIZE Phase 1), 63.5% maintained remission (DAS28<2.6 at wk 76 & 91 visits) with ETN25/MTX, 38.5% with MTX and 23% with PBO over 39 subsequent wks. There was no significant radiographic progression in any treatment group. There were no unexpected safety findings. (Table Presented).