For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), avoiding damage to cartilage and bone in the joints is a key consideration for treatment. While anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are used to treat RA and reduce joint destruction, the available anti-TNF agents, both originator and biosimilar, have not been directly compared with one another or with placebo in terms of their impacts on joint damage. A new study, published last week, attempted to address that gap in the literature by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), avoiding damage to cartilage and bone in the joints is a key consideration for treatment. While anti—tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are used to treat RA and reduce joint destruction, the available anti-TNF agents, both originator and biosimilar, have not been directly compared with one another or with placebo in terms of their impacts on joint damage. A new study, published last week, attempted to address that gap in the literature by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
The investigators compared 5 anti-TNF agents, as well as an untreated placebo control group, using radiographically estimated joint destruction as the primary outcome.
Their literature search arrived at 36 RCTs that were published in 35 papers. The number of patients enrolled in each study ranged from 24 to 1022, and the studies’ durations varied from 0.2 years to 11 years. The anti-TNF therapies included in the studies, with or without methotrexate and at a range of dosages, were adalimumab, certolizumab, reference infliximab, biosimilar infliximab SB2, biosimilar infliximab CT-P13, biosimilar etanercept SB4, reference etanercept, and golimumab. The oral small-molecule drug sulfasalazine and placebo were also investigated.
They found that the difference in annual progression (percentage point) in terms of joint destruction for each of the treatments, compared with methotrexate monotherapy, was as follows for the standard dose in an unadjusted model and in a 4-covariate metaregression (which included normalized Disease Activity Score in a count of 28 joints, normalized radiographic joint score, normalized glucocorticoid treatment, and incomplete outcome), respectively:
The authors write that the effects of anti-TNFs on joint destruction in RA “generally are similar and that the effects of biosimilars correspond to the reference drugs. However, the effect of golimumab in the defined standard dose seemed to be inferior.”
Reference
Graudal N, Kaas-Hansen BS, Guski L, Hubeck-Graudal T, Welton NJ, Jürgens G. Different original and biosimilar TNF inhibitors similarly reduce joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis—a network meta-analysis of 36 randomized controlled trials. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(18):4350. doi: 10.3390/ijms20184350.
Physician and Patient Perspectives After Starting or Switching to Amgevita in IBD
March 23rd 2024A real-world study surveying physicians and patients on adalimumab biosimilar ABP 501 (Amgevita) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) found both patients initiating ABP 501 and those who had switched from the reference product had higher satisfaction levels.
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.
Webinar Addresses Solutions to Improve Adalimumab Biosimilar Uptake
March 18th 2024Government policies, including those related to prescribing incentives and interchangeability, need to be reworked to encourage biosimilar adoption and create meaningful savings for health systems, according to speakers at a recent webinar.
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.
The Role of Biosimilars: Advancing Access, Financial Health, and System Sustainability
March 11th 2024Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care, a member of the Community Oncology Alliance, and member of The Center for Biosimilars® Advisory Board, glances back at the development of the biosimilar industry and the last 5 years of progress.