Subcutaneous tocilizumab relieves rheumatoid arthritis symptoms for patients unresponsive to other medications

Subcutaneous tocilizumab improved symptoms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had not yet responded to anti-rheumatic medications sufficiently, according to the results of a recent study.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter BREVACTA study examined the effect of subcutaneous tocilizumab (Actemra, Genentech) in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients included in the study (n = 656) were at least 18 years old, had active RA for a minimum of 6 months and had not obtained relief through other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or tumor necrosis factor therapies such as B- and T-cell and interleukin-6 inhibitors.

Participants received either placebo or tocilizumab 162 mg every other week for 24 weeks and were evaluated according to the American College of Rheumatology 20 at the end of that time period. Secondary outcomes included radiographic progression and safety. By week 12, those who were not responding were given tocilizumab 162 mg weekly.

At week 24, tocilizumab showed superior ACR20 response compared with placebo, according to the researchers (60.9% vs. 31.5%; P < .0001). All secondary endpoint measurements were also superior for tocilizumab compared with placebo.

Adverse events and serious adverse events were comparable between the two treatment groups, at 4.6% and 3.7%, respectively. Reactions at the injection site were more common with the tocilizumab cohort (7.1% vs. 4.1% with placebo), and three deaths occurred in the tocilizumab group whereas none occurred in placebo.

Disclosures: See the study for a full list of all authors’ relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Kivitz A. Arthritis Care Res. 2014. doi:10.1002/acr.22384.