Relative remission rates of Janus kinase inhibitors in comparison with adalimumab in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: a network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES

The relative remission rates of tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib compared with those of adalimumab were assessed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who responded poorly to methotrexate (MTX).

METHODS

We performed a Bayesian network meta-analysis to combine direct and indirect evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints with C‑reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI), and the Boolean remission of tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, filgotinib, and adalimumab in RA patients with inadequate responses to MTX.

RESULTS

Four RCTs, comprising 3507 patients, met the inclusion criteria. The filgotinib 200 mg + MTX and upadacitinib 15 mg + MTX groups showed a significantly higher DAS28-CRP < 2.6 than adalimumab 40 mg + MTX. Upadacitinib 15 mg + MTX showed a significantly higher CDAI (≤ 2.8) than adalimumab 40 mg + MTX (odds ratio [OR]: 1.62; 95% credible interval [CrI]: 1.16-2.29). The ranking probability based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) indicated that upadacitinib 15 mg + MTX had the highest probability of being the best treatment as it achieved a CDAI ≤ 2.8, followed by filgotinib 200 mg + MTX, baricitinib 4 mg + MTX, tofacitinib 5 mg + MTX, and adalimumab 40 mg + MTX. The Boolean remission showed the same distribution pattern as that of the CDAI ≤ 2.8. Upadacitinib 15 mg + MTX showed a significantly higher SDAI ≤ 3.3 than adalimumab 40 mg + MTX (OR: 1.62; 95% CrI: 1.16-2.28). SUCRA ranking based on SDAI ≤ 3.3 indicated that upadacitinib 15 mg + MTX had the highest probability of being the best treatment for achieving an SDAI ≤ 3.3, followed by baricitinib 4 mg + MTX, filgotinib 200 mg + MTX, tofacitinib 5 mg + MTX, and adalimumab 40 mg + MTX.

CONCLUSIONS

In RA patients with an inadequate response to MTX, remission rates with JAK inhibitors were significantly higher; there is evidence for differences in efficacy regarding remission among the different JAK inhibitors.