A large Canadian study of patients with inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, reports that a high overall rate of adherence to subcutaneous anti-TNFs.
Anti—tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapies are the most widely used biologics in rheumatology in Canada, due to many years of clinical experience and provincial reimbursement criteria. A large Canadian study of patients with inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), reports that a high overall rate of adherence to subcutaneous anti-TNFs (76% of patients).
In addition, the data show that patients taking golimumab (Simponi) had the highest adherence compared with other subcutaneous anti-TNFs: adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel), and certolizumab pegol (Cimzia). The study also confirmed previous research showing that patients have better adherence to medications with longer versus shorter dosing intervals, and supported the inverse relationship between dosing frequency and adherence reported in various studies with different medication classes.
The study, published in the July 2017 issue of BMJ Open, was supported by Janssen, Canada, the manufacturer of golimumab. The finding is important because nonadherence to therapy is an important, modifiable factor that may compromise patient outcomes, said lead author Peter Bhoi, of Janssen Inc. Dosing intervals for subcutaneous anti-TNFs were evaluated in order to assess the proportion of patients whose treatment needed to be intensified (by shortening the dosing interval) during the course of a 2-year follow up. “We found that shortening of the dosing interval was observed in all the [subcutaneous anti-TNF] cohorts, and that the proportions of patients were comparable between the 4 drugs,” the study’s authors said. “To the best of our knowledge, this it he first detailed report on shortening of the dosing interval across different [subcutaneous anti-TNFs].”
The researchers used prescribing data from January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2012, and followed patients for 24 months through June 30, 2014. Patients included in the study were adults newly prescribed a subcutaneous anti-TNF with at least 3 prescriptions, and retained on therapy for at least 24 months. The study included 4035 patients, with 683 (16.9%) receiving golimumab; 1400 (34.7%) receiving adalimumab; 1764 (43.7%) receiving etanercept; and 187 (4.6%) receiving certolizumab pegol. The study included over half of the overall Canadian population of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
The researchers report that the proportion of adherent patients in the golimumab cohort (n = 595, 87%; P < .0001) was greater than that of adalimumab- (n = 1044, 75%), etanercept- (n = 1285, 73%), and certolizumab pegol-treated patients (n = 132, 71%).
In addition, the number of patients receiving a biologic at a shorter dosing interval was similar among cohorts:
In conclusion, this real-life study evaluating adherence to anti-TNFs in inflammatory diseases, using data from the Canadian administrative databases, demonstrates considerably high adherence rates. The finding that golimumab has better adherence compared with the other subcutaneous anti-TNFs could be explained, in part, by its simpler, less frequent dosing regimen. Further studies are needed to investigate the reasons for the difference in adherence between golimumab and other subcutaneous anti-TNFs, and to evaluate the impact of this improved adherence on clinical and health-economic outcomes.
Spanish Real-World Study: Adalimumab Biosimilar MSB11022 Safe, Effective in IBD
May 18th 2024A real-world study in Spain on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients found no meaningful changes in clinical or biochemical markers or differences in effectiveness between the adalimumab originator and the biosimilar MSB11022 (Idacio; Fresenius Kabi) in adalimumab-naïve patients.
Decoding the Patent Puzzle: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Biosimilars
March 17th 2024On this episode of Not So Different, Ha Kung Wong, JD, an intellectual patent attorney and partner at Venable LLP, details the confusing landscape that is the US patent system and how it can be improved to help companies overcome barriers to biosimilar competition.
Panelists Call for Consistent Education, Support to Improve Patient Comfort With Biosimilars
May 15th 2024At the Festival of Biologics USA, panelists stressed the need for patient-centered communication and education to boost comfort with biosimilars, emphasizing consistent support from health care providers despite restrictive payer policies.
Biosimilars Rheumatology Roundup for February 2024—Podcast Edition
March 3rd 2024On this episode of Not So Different, The Center for Biosimilars® revisited all the major rheumatology biosimilar news from February 2024, including the FDA approval of the 10th adalimumab biosimilar, the promise for an oral delivery system for ustekinumab, and the impact of adalimumab products on COVID-19 antibodies.
Eye on Pharma: EU Ustekinumab Approval; New Golimumab Data; Evernorth Adds Humira Biosimilar
April 29th 2024The European Union gained a new ustekinumab biosimilar; Alvotech released positive results from a clinical trial evaluating a golimumab biosimilar and the reference products (Simponi and Simponi Aria), and Evernorth announced that it is set to cover an adalimumab biosimilar at zero cost to patients.