Key clinical point: In patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), disproportionate articular pain (DP) was prevalent and sarilumab fared better than adalimumab or placebo in reducing DP and achieving clinical outcomes.
Major finding: At baseline, 23% of patients had DP. At week 24, a numerically lower proportion of patients experienced DP (15% vs 27%) and a higher proportion of patients achieved a Clinical Disease Activity Index of ≤10 (40% vs 17%) and American College of Rheumatology 50 response (42% vs 28%) with sarilumab vs adalimumab, with results being similar for sarilumab vs placebo.
Study details: This post hoc analysis of three phase 3 trials and their open label extension studies included 1531 patients with RA and intolerance or inadequate response to methotrexate/tumor necrosis factor inhibitors who received sarilumab, adalimumab, or placebo.
Disclosures: This study was funded by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Three authors declared being employees of or holding stock or stock options in Sanofi. Several authors reported ties with Sanofi, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and other sources.
Source: Choy E et al. Disproportionate articular pain is a frequent phenomenon in rheumatoid arthritis and responds to treatment with sarilumab. Rheumatology (Oxford) . 2022 (Nov 22). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac659