The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of maintenance treatment with 3mg/kg, 6mg/kg or 10mg/kg of TA-650 in combination with methotrexate (MTX) after three infusions (weeks-0, 2, 6) of 3mg/kg in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) showing an insufficient response to MTX.
This study is a prospective, randomized, double-blind study to compare the efficacy and safety of 10 mg/kg infliximab with those of 3 mg/kg infliximab treatment in methotrexate-refractory rheumatoid arthritis patients. After the patients received 3 mg/kg infliximab infusion at weeks 0, 2, and 6, they were randomly assigned to be administered 3, 6 or 10 mg/kg infliximab every 8 weeks from week 14 to 46. Mean American College of Rheumatology improvement (ACR-N) at week 54, the primary endpoint, was 51.3% and 58.3% for the 3 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg groups, respectively, with a statistically significant difference. Treatment with 10 mg/kg was found to be remarkably beneficial in patients who had not responded to three infusions with 3 mg/kg at week 10. The median changes in the modified Sharp score were 0.0 in the two groups. There were no significant differences in the incidences of adverse events between the groups. In patients who achieved better clinical response or greater inhibition of progression of joint damage, trough serum infliximab level was significantly higher than in patients who did not. The magnitudes of both efficacies were correlated with the trough serum infliximab level (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00691028).
Objective: The associations between elevated levels of serum Krebs von den Lungen‐6 (KL‐6) and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors were investigated in five Japanese clinical trials. Methods: Percentages and incidence rates were calculated for elevated serum KL‐6 levels. Adverse events associated with elevated levels of serum KL‐6 were investigated. Results: In RISING, a clinical trial for infliximab, 15.6 % of the enrolled patients met criterion B (KL‐6 >500 U/ml and < 1.5‐fold increase over the baseline value) by week 54. In HIKARI, 7.8 % of the certolizumab pegol (CZP) group and 0 % of the placebo group met criterion B during the double‐blind (DB) period (p = 0.003). In J‐RAPID, 8.4 % of the methotrexate (MTX) + CZP and 3.9 % of the MTX + placebo groups met criterion B during the DB period. In GO‐MONO, 1.8 % of the golimumab (GLM) and 1.3 % of the placebo groups met criterion B during the DB period. In GO‐FORTH, 7.1 % of the MTX + GLM and 0 % of the MTX + placebo groups met criteron B during the DB period (p = 0.017). No adverse events accompanied the elevation of serum KL‐6 levels in 95.7 % of these patients. Conclusion: Serum KL‐6 levels may increase during anti‐ TNF therapy without significant clinical events. In these patients, continuing treatment with TNF inhibitors under careful observation is a reasonable option. Japan College of Rheumatology 2012.
The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of maintenance treatment with 3mg/kg, 6mg/kg or 10mg/kg of TA-650 in combination with methotrexate (MTX) after three infusions (weeks-0, 2, 6) of 3mg/kg in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) showing an insufficient response to MTX.
