medwireNews: The interleukin (IL)-17A inhibitor ixekizumab has consistent efficacy and safety profiles for up to 3 years among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and no prior biologic exposure, suggest follow-up results from the SPIRIT-P1 trial.
In the phase 3 study, 417 participants were randomly assigned to receive 24 weeks of treatment with ixekizumab 80 mg every 2 or every 4 weeks, adalimumab, or placebo until week 24, after which time those in the adalimumab and placebo arms switched to ixekizumab. Previously reported results showed that ixekizumab is “superior to placebo in improving signs and symptoms of PsA, slowing the progression of structural joint damage and improving patient [health-related quality of life],” say Vinod Chandran (Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, Canada) and co-researchers.
Among the 381 participants remaining in the study at 3 years, ACR20, 50, and 70 response rates persisted at this timepoint, with rates of 62.5%, 56.1%, and 43.8%, respectively, for patients given ixekizumab every 2 weeks and 69.8%, 51.8%, and 33.4%, respectively, for those given the drug every 4 weeks. PASI75, 90, and 100 response rates also remained stable at the 3-year follow-up, and participants experienced “persistent low rates of radiographic progression,” report the researchers.
Noting that the safety profile also showed “consistency with previous studies of ixekizumab,” they conclude in Rheumatology that “[i]xekizumab is a suitable long-term treatment for PsA.”
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Rheumatology 2020; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kez684