Baricitinib Shown to Improve Moderate to Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis

Medication shows promising results in phase 3 study.

Eli Lilly and Company and Incyte Corporation’s study of the investigational medicine baricitinib met its primary endpoint of improved American College of Rheumatology scores (ACR20) after 12 weeks of treatment for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a press release.

The phase 3 study examined patients with moderately to severely active RA who previously failed 1 or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors and who were taking stable doses of conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (cDMARD) therapy.

The 527 patients received either 1 or 2 doses of baricitinib once daily or a placebo, plus their background cDMARDs. Some patients taking baricitinib reported headaches, upper respiratory tract infections, and nasopharyngitis.

The majority of patients who participated in the 6-month trial decided to participate in a long-term extension study, too, according to Eli Lilly.

"People with rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to TNF inhibitors are generally considered to be the least responsive to subsequent treatments," said David Ricks, Lilly senior vice president, and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, in a press release. "These results give us further confidence in the potential for baricitinib to be a meaningful treatment option for those suffering from this debilitating condition."