Key clinical point: Female vs. male patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and a prior inadequate response to treatment exhibited significantly higher disease activity at baseline and a worse response to ixekizumab.
Major finding: At baseline, female vs. male patients had significantly higher Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index scores ( P ≤ .003), with a significantly higher proportion of male vs. female patients in the ixekizumab every 4 weeks (53.8% vs. 38.3%) and ixekizumab every 2 weeks (41.2% vs. 28.1%) treatment arms achieving ≥50% and ≥70% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology criteria, respectively (both P < .05).
Study details: This post hoc analysis of two phase 3 trials included 679 patients with active PsA who were either biologic-naive ( SPIRIT-P1) or showed an inadequate response to 1 or 2 tumor necrosis factor inhibitors ( SPIRIT-P2) and were randomly assigned to receive ixekizumab or placebo.
Disclosures: This study was supported by Eli Lilly and Company. Five authors declared being employees and shareholders of Eli Lilly and Company and other authors reported ties with various sources, including Eli Lilly.
Source: Eder L et al. Responses to ixekizumab in male and female patients with psoriatic arthritis: Results from two randomized, phase 3 clinical trials. Rheumatol Ther. 2022 (Apr 9). Doi: 10.1007/s40744-022-00445-w