LONDON -- Late-breaking abstracts presented at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology's (EULAR) annual meeting, held here last week, addressed a wide range of clinical concerns and suggested that patients and clinicians have much to look forward to in coming months and years. Following are brief highlights from the presentations. (A fuller treatment of one presentation, on baricitinib [Olumiant] safety, can be seen here.)
Psoriatic Arthritis Drugs Go Head to Head
Two of the drugs most heavily advertised to U.S. consumers are risankizumab (Skyrizi) and bimekizumab (Bimzelx), both approved for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The latter's manufacturer, UCB, now may have the jump on its competitor for the latter indication with a randomized, head-to-head trial showing better efficacy, albeit with some extra risk we probably won't see on TV.
With 553 patients randomized to the two biologics -- risankizumab targets interleukin (IL)-17A while the other inhibits it and also IL-17F -- and an ACR50 response (50% symptom reduction by American College of Rheumatology criteria) as the primary endpoint, bimekizumab was the winner. Joseph Merola, MD, MMSc, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, reported that 49.1% of patients given the latter achieved this milestone at week 16, versus 38.0% of the risankizumab group (P=0.0058). This gap remained when treatment continued for another 8 weeks.
