Phase 3 SAPHYR study findings suggest that the IL-6 receptor inhibitor sarilumab with glucocorticoid taper is an efficacious treatment option for patients with steroid-resistant polymyalgia rheumatica.

Treatment with the IL-6 receptor inhibitor sarilumab does not improve clinical outcomes for people with severe or critical COVID-19, trial results suggest.

The IL-6 receptor inhibitors tocilizumab and sarilumab have been authorized for the off-label treatment of COVID-19 in patients admitted to intensive care units in the UK.

Treatment with the IL-6 receptor inhibitor sarilumab is associated with a greater improvement in glycemic control than conventional DMARDs or adalimumab among patients with comorbid rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, indicate findings from a post-hoc analysis.

Sarilumab treatment provides consistent benefits for a broad range of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggests a subgroup analysis of data from phase 3 trials.

Sarilumab shows greater efficacy relative to adalimumab or methotrexate monotherapy among rheumatoid arthritis patients with high baseline interleukin-6 levels than it does among those with low or medium levels, study findings indicate.

Adding sarilumab to methotrexate significantly improves the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis relative to placebo in Japanese patients with an inadequate response to methotrexate monotherapy, study findings indicate.

Findings from a systematic review and network meta-analysis indicate that adding sarilumab to conventional DMARDs may be beneficial for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to either conventional DMARDs or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have reported greater improvements with sarilumab versus adalimumab in multiple outcomes, complementing its superior clinical efficacy profile already reported in the MONARCH trial.

Sarilumab has consistent safety and efficacy profiles over 2 years among patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate, results of an open-label extension study suggest.

Sarilumab has been recommended as a treatment option for adult patients with active rheumatoid arthritis by the UK National Institute For Health and Care Excellence.

medwireNews : Sarilumab has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The interleukin-6 receptor antagonist sarilumab has been approved by the US FDA for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Genovese MC et al. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2018. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/key121

At the time of randomization, participants were a median of 9 days from symptom onset and similar proportions in each group were receiving other treatments for COVID-19, including corticosteroids (87%), remdesivir (23%), and tocilizumab or sarilumab (13%).

The researchers note, however, that “comparisons between tocilizumab and sarilumab were indirect,” and “trials of sarilumab were generally done earlier in the pandemic than those of tocilizumab and before corticosteroids became the standard of care.”

Findings from the REMAP-CAP trial indicate that add-on treatment with tocilizumab or sarilumab may be beneficial for critically ill patients with COVID-19, whereas COVACTA suggests comparable outcomes with tocilizumab versus placebo in those with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

A total of 16% received treatment with the IL-1 receptor inhibitor anakinra, while 14% were given an IL-6 receptor inhibitor (tocilizumab or sarilumab), and the remaining 70% did not receive IL inhibitors and formed the control group.

Cristina Mussini discusses the current data on interleukin inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19 and explores why tocilizumab has been associated with beneficial outcomes in some studies but not others (19:10).