Key clinical point: Peficitinib reduced the progression of joint damage compared with placebo in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who responded inadequately to prior methotrexate.
Major finding: At week 28/early termination, the mean change in overall erosion score and overall joint space narrowing score in patients receiving 100 mg and 150 mg peficitinib vs. placebo was 0.63 ± 2.03 and 0.18 ± 1.10 vs. 1.35 ± 3.01, and 0.99 ± 2.86 and 0.82 ± 2.39 vs. 1.90 ± 3.76, respectively.
Study details: This was a post hoc analysis of phase 3 trial, RAJ4, which included 481 patients with RA who had an inadequate response to methotrexate who were randomly assigned to receive 100 mg or 150 mg peficitinib or placebo, in combination with methotrexate, for 52 weeks .
Disclosures: This study was initiated and supported by Astellas Pharma Inc. Y Tanaka and T Takeuchi reported receiving speaking fees, honoraria, research grants, or consulting fees from various sources. Five authors reported being employees of Astellas Pharma Inc.
Source: Tanaka Y et al. Post hoc analysis of clinical characteristics of patients with radiographic progression in a Japanese phase 3 trial of peficitinib and methotrexate treatment (RAJ4). Mod Rheumatol. 2022 (Mar 10). Doi: 10.1093/mr/roac021