Study of the Optimal Protocol for Methotrexate and Adalimumab Combination Therapy in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

This study compared the safety and efficacy of combination therapy with adalimumab plus methotrexate (MTX) to that of MTX monotherapy (i.e., placebo plus MTX) in subjects with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria

* Subject must be 18 or older and in good health
* Subject must meet the definition of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) defined by the 1987-revised American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria and had disease duration of less than 1 year from diagnosis
* Subject must have a Disease Activity Score (DAS28, based on C-reactive protein) greater than 3.2, at least 6 swollen joints out of the 66 assessed, and at least 8 tender joints out of the 68 assessed
* Subject must fulfill at least one of the following three criteria:

  * Rheumatoid factor positive
  * Greater than 1 joint erosion
  * Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody positive.

Exclusion Criteria

* Subject has previously received systemic anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy
* Subject has received any biologic or investigational therapy within 6 weeks prior to Baseline
* Subject has been previously treated with more than 2 disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or MTX, had been treated with intra-articular or parenteral administration of corticosteroids in preceding 4 weeks, or had undergone joint surgery within the preceding 2 months at joints to be assessed during the study.

• DERIVEDSmolen J, Fleischmann R, Aletaha D, Li Y, Zhou Y, Sainsbury I, Galindo IL. Disease activity improvements with optimal discriminatory ability between treatment arms: applicability in early and established rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials. Arthritis Res Ther. 2019 Nov 10;21(1):231. doi: 10.1186/s13075-019-2005-9. PMID 31707982
• DERIVEDSmolen JS, van Vollenhoven RF, Florentinus S, Chen S, Suboticki JL, Kavanaugh A. Predictors of disease activity and structural progression after treatment with adalimumab plus methotrexate or continued methotrexate monotherapy in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and suboptimal response to methotrexate. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018 Nov;77(11):1566-1572. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-213502. Epub 2018 Aug 3. PMID 30076156
• DERIVEDKavanaugh A, van Vollenhoven RF, Fleischmann R, Emery P, Sainsbury I, Florentinus S, Chen S, Guerette B, Kupper H, Smolen JS. Testing treat-to-target outcomes with initial methotrexate monotherapy compared with initial tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (adalimumab) plus methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018 Feb;77(2):289-292. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211871. Epub 2017 Nov 16. PMID 29146743
• DERIVEDKeystone EC, Breedveld FC, van der Heijde D, van Vollenhoven RF, Emery P, Smolen JS, Sainsbury I, Florentinus S, Kupper H, Chen K, Kavanaugh A. Achieving comprehensive disease control in patients with early and established rheumatoid arthritis treated with adalimumab plus methotrexate versus methotrexate alone. RMD Open. 2017 Sep 26;3(2):e000445. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2017-000445. eCollection 2017. PMID 29018564
• DERIVEDBurmester GR, Landewe R, Genovese MC, Friedman AW, Pfeifer ND, Varothai NA, Lacerda AP. Adalimumab long-term safety: infections, vaccination response and pregnancy outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Feb;76(2):414-417. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209322. Epub 2016 Jun 23. PMID 27338778
• DERIVEDSmolen JS, Emery P, Fleischmann R, van Vollenhoven RF, Pavelka K, Durez P, Guerette B, Kupper H, Redden L, Arora V, Kavanaugh A. Adjustment of therapy in rheumatoid arthritis on the basis of achievement of stable low disease activity with adalimumab plus methotrexate or methotrexate alone: the randomised controlled OPTIMA trial. Lancet. 2014 Jan 25;383(9914):321-32. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61751-1. Epub 2013 Oct 26.