Lower injection-site reactions and long-term safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of etanercept biosimilar YLB113: Results from a post-hoc analysis of a double-blind, randomized, phase III comparative study and its open-label extension in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

AIM

YLB113 biosimilar was evaluated in an open-label extension single-arm study to assess long-term safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We also report post-hoc results on the incidence of injection-site reactions (ISRs) and injection-site erythema (ISE) from a phase III study.

METHOD

Participants from the phase III, double-blind, randomized, 96 week equivalence study who completed the final visit received 50 mg YLB113 subcutaneously every 2 weeks. Key safety end points were assessed through adverse events (AEs), ISRs, ISE, and anti-drug antibody (ADA) incidence. The efficacy end point was change from baseline in Disease Activity Score 28-joint count (DAS28) over time.

RESULTS

Of 201 participants, 184 (91.5%) completed the study. Treatment-emergent AEs were experienced by 93.5% and severe AEs by 10.0% of participants. The discontinuation rate due to AEs was 2.0%. Overall, 20.0% of participants reported an incidence of ISRs throughout the open-label extension study. Two participants developed ADAs, and none developed neutralizing ADAs at any time after study drug administration. The overall DAS28 (mean ± SD) change was 2.22 ± 0.95 at the study transition, 2.10 ± 0.91 at week 72, and 2.06 ± 0.89 at the end of the study. In the post-hoc analysis, YLB113 showed a statistically significant lower incidence of ISRs (10 [3.8%], P < 0.0001) and ISE (5 [1.9%], P < 0.0001) compared with the reference product Enbrel®.

CONCLUSION

YLB113 demonstrated long-term safety and sustained efficacy for up to 96 weeks. Patients on YLB113 experienced significantly lower ISRs and ISE in a post-hoc analysis of the phase III study when compared with reference product.

High concentration of oxaliplatin may be a risk factor for vascular pain

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Oxaliplatin (L-OHP) is an antineoplastic agent that frequently causes vascular pain. However, the risk factors for vascular pain are unclear, and prevention methods have not been established. We retrospectively investigated patients who were treated with L-OHP to examine the influence of patient characteristics and concomitant analgesic use on the incidence of vascular pain.

METHODS

We collected information about the presence or absence of vascular pain, age, sex, treatment dose and analgesic use of patients who received L-OHP at Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center. We analysed the relevance of each factor between the vascular pain onset and non-onset groups.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Thirty-two patients (average age: 68.6 years; 69.8% and 30.2% men and women, respectively) were classified into the vascular pain onset (n = 64) and non-onset groups (n = 68). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that L-OHP concentration (>358.5 mg/L) was an independent determinant of vascular pain development (odds ratio: 2.422, 95% CI: 1.117-5.252). Intergroup differences in age, sex, body mass index, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and underlying pain from cancer and other comorbidities were not significant.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

High L-OHP concentration was identified as a significant risk factor for L-OHP-induced vascular pain. Our results indicate that the dilution of L-OHP may reduce the incidence of vascular pain.

Cutaneous adverse events induced by azacitidine in myelodysplastic syndrome patients: Case reports and a lesson from published work review

Subcutaneous injection of azacitidine (AZA) is an important treatment option for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), which improves overall survival. In hematology, the incidence of AZA-induced cutaneous adverse events (AE) has been known to be relatively high, which has not been well recognized by dermatologists. Discontinuation of AZA can result in the deterioration of MDS disease activity. Therefore, on dermatological consultation, precise evaluation of AE severity and careful consideration is required for post-AE medication management. To enhance our understanding of AZA-induced cutaneous AE, we report four cases with two representative cutaneous AE subtypes and summarize the clinicopathological phenotypes and courses of the cases in the published work. Case 1, a 71-year-old man, developed neutrophilic dermatosis involving the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. The other three cases, a 75-year-old man, a 78-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man, presented injection-site erythema associated with flare-up reaction. Discontinuation of AZA was necessary for case 1 alone. The published work review delineated three major subtypes of AZA-induced cutaneous AE: systemic cutaneous reaction, neutrophilic dermatosis type and erythematous type injection-site reaction. Histologically, the first two subtypes are mostly characterized by neutrophil infiltration, while the third subtype presents lymphocytic cell infiltration. Neither AZA discontinuation nor intensive interventions were required for the erythematous type injection-site reaction, while AZA termination or systemic treatments, represented by corticosteroid administration, were preferentially conducted for the systemic cutaneous reaction or the neutrophilic dermatosis type injection-site reaction subgroup. These observations support the necessity of subtype-dependent treatment strategies for the management of AZA-induced cutaneous AE.

A delayed injection-site reaction in a patient receiving extended-release naltrexone

BACKGROUND

Pharmacotherapy, such as oral naltrexone, has proven effective in treating alcohol use disorder, although medication adherence has presented challenges. Although a formulation of extended-release naltrexone for intramuscular injection has been developed to counter daily adherence issues, injection-site reactions can occur within days of depot injection.

CASE

The authors report a case of an individual with alcohol use disorder who had a previously undescribed delayed injection-site reaction that occurred 11 days after injection. Subsequent challenge with the medication resulted in recurrence of the reaction.

DISCUSSION

Although extended-release naltrexone is generally well tolerated, injection-site reactions can complicate treatment and can appear more than 10 days after medication administration.