Predicting Treatment Responses in Patients With Osteoarthritis: Results From Two Phase III Tanezumab Randomized Clinical Trials

Prediction of treatment responses is essential to move forward translational science. Our question was to identify patient-based variables that predicted responses to treatments. We conducted secondary analyses on pooled data from two randomized phase III clinical trials (NCT02697773 and NCT02709486) conducted in participants with moderate to severe osteoarthritis randomized to subcutaneous placebo (n = 514) or tanezumab 2.5 mg (n = 514). We used gradient boosted regression trees to identify variables that predicted Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) Pain subscale scores at Week 16 and marginal plots to determine the directional relationship between each variable category and responses to placebo or tanezumab within the models. We also used Virtual Twins models to identify potential subgroups of response to the active treatment vs. placebo. We found that responses to placebo were predicted by baseline WOMAC Physical Function, baseline WOMAC Pain, the radiographic classification of the index joint, and the standard deviation of diary pain scores at baseline. In contrast, baseline WOMAC Pain along with failure of prior medications, duration of disease, and standard deviation of diary pain scores at baseline were predictive of tanezumab responses as expressed by the WOMAC Pain scores at Week 16. Those who responded to tanezumab vs. placebo were identified based on the radiographic classification of the index joint and either age or smoking status. These secondary-data analyses identified distinct and common patient-based variables to predict response to placebo or tanezumab. These findings will inform the design of future clinical trials, helping to move forward clinical pharmacology and translational science.

Real-World Adherence to Oral Methotrexate Measured Electronically in Patients With Established Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective

To assess methotrexate (MTX) adherence using the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) and characterize associations with adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

Eligible patients participated in Forward, the National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases, and recently (12 months or sooner) initiated oral MTX. MEMS was used to compile MTX weekly dosing over 24 weeks. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) was completed, and baseline demographics and disease characteristics obtained. MTX adherence (percentage of weeks dose taken correctly), implementation (percentage of weeks dose taken correctly from initiation until last dose), and persistence (duration from initiation to last dose) were calculated. Analyses measured associations between patient characteristics and adherence, modeled using logistic generalized estimating equations and censored Poisson regression, and persistence modeled using Cox regression.

Results

Overall, 60 of 119 eligible patients were included in the analysis. MTX adherence, implementation, and persistence were 75%, 80%, and 83%, respectively, at 24 weeks. Demographics and disease characteristics were generally similar between patients with 1 week or less and 2 weeks or more of missed MTX. Unemployment, less disability, higher Patient Global scores, and no prior disease‐modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) use were associated with correct dosing. No significant differences in adherence were observed between patients receiving concomitant MTX versus MTX monotherapy, and biologic DMARD‐experienced versus biologic DMARD‐naïve patients. Higher scores in BMQ Specific Necessity (indicating a greater belief in the necessity of the medication) was associated with a decreased likelihood of dosing at an interval shorter than prescribed (odds ratio 0.89).

Conclusion

Even in a participatory group over a short period, MTX adherence was suboptimal and associated with certain demographics, medication experience, and beliefs about medicines. This suggests a need for screening and alternative treatment opportunities in nonadherent MTX patients with RA.

Safety signal detection and evaluation in clinical development programs: A case study of tofacitinib

Adverse events are anticipated during a clinical development program. Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We describe here the process undertaken by Pfizer to investigate a safety signal for pancreatic cancer with tofacitinib. Potential cases of pancreatic cancer across indications from Pfizer's clinical trials and safety databases were identified and underwent in‐depth case review and external expert consultation. The magnitude of the signal was quantified. The feasibility of formal signal evaluation via a hypothesis‐testing study was explored. As of July 2016, 14 cases of potential pancreatic cancer were identified: eight cases in clinical development trials (psoriasis n = 6; RA n = 1; psoriatic arthritis n = 1), four cases in a postmarketing study in RA patients in Japan, and two spontaneous reports. Incidence rates (95% confidence intervals) per 100 patient‐years ranged from 0 (0, 0.02) to 0.14 in RA, 0.05 (0.01, 0.15) to 0.07 (0.02, 0.16) in psoriasis, and 0.25 (0.01, 1.37) in psoriatic arthritis. The majority of patients had established risk factors for pancreatic cancer. The pharmaceutical industry's rapid and transparent response to safety signals is essential for ensuring patient safety and enabling physicians and patients to adequately assess a drug's risk:benefit. Safety signals emerging through pharmacovigilance may be true or false indicators of a causative association with drug exposure. In this example, it was determined that tofacitinib exposure was unlikely to be related to induction and promotion of pancreatic cancer; however, a relationship with pancreatic cancer promotion could not be excluded.

Natalizumab treatment in multiple sclerosis: the experience from two Brazilian MS centers

Objective Analyze the demographics, clinical characteristics, efficacy and safety of natalizumab treatment in Brazilian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) followed up for at least 12 months, in two tertiary MS care centers in São Paulo.Method We evaluated the effect of natalizumab treatment on annualized relapse rate and disability progression in 75 patients with MS treated with natalizumab for at least 12 months. A subgroup analysis was performed to evaluate efficacy of natalizumab treatment in patients with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) ≤ 3.0 vs patients with EDSS > 3.Results Patients treated for at least one year with natalizumab showed a 91% reduction in aRR, as well and an improvement in neurological disability. The impact of natalizumab treatment was greater in patients with EDSS < 3.0. Overall, natalizumab was safe but one patient developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.Conclusion Natalizumab as a third line therapy is safe and efficacious, especially in patients with mild neurological disability.

Regional distribution of spine and hip QCT BMD responses after one year of once-monthly ibandronate in postmenopausal osteoporosis

In the published placebo-controlled Ibandronate Quality (IQ) study, 12 months of once-monthly oral ibandronate increased femoral and vertebral integral and trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT). Ibandronate showed significant improvements versus placebo in finite element analysis of femoral and vertebral strength. This post hoc analysis examined QCT BMD changes in novel superior and inferior vertebral volumes of interest (VOIs) and femoral and vertebral subcortical, extended cortical, and extended trabecular VOIs. Ninety-three postmenopausal women (BMD(a)T-scores< or =-2.0 at lumbar spine, total hip, or femoral neck) received ibandronate 150 mg/month (n=47) or placebo (n=46) for 12 months. QCT with Medical Imaging Analysis Framework (MIAF)-Spine and MIAF-Femur used automated segmentation and coordinate system-based identification of integral, cortical, subcortical, and trabecular VOIs and combinations (extended cortical=cortical+subcortical; extended trabecular=trabecular+subcortical). Between-group differences in mean percentage changes from baseline were determined by treatment- and center-adjusted analysis of variance. P values were post hoc, exploratory, descriptive, and unadjusted for multiple comparisons. Ibandronate increased vertebral superior and inferior trabecular and extended cortical midsection BMD (4.9%, p=0.032; 4.6%, p=0.055; 3.9%, p=0.014, respectively) versus placebo. Femoral BMD treatment differences (ibandronate versus placebo) were significant in total hip (extended trabecular 4.0%, p=0.005; extended cortical 1.5%, p=0.047; subcortical 3.7%, p=0.009), trochanter (extended trabecular 5.2%, p=0.007; extended cortical 2.4%, p=0.01), and extended trabecular femoral neck (4.0%, p=0.02). Monthly oral ibandronate for 12 months improved QCT BMD versus placebo in the vertebral periphery, subcortical total hip, and all femoral extended trabecular regions.

Efficacy and safety of monthly ibandronate in men with low bone density

INTRODUCTION

Monthly oral ibandronate is indicated for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The STudy Researching Osteoporosis iN Guys (STRONG) investigated the efficacy and safety of 150-mg monthly oral ibandronate in men with primary, idiopathic, or hypogonadism-related low bone density.

METHODS

STRONG was a 1-year, placebo-controlled, randomized (2 ibandronate: 1 placebo), double-blind study that enrolled ambulatory men aged > or =30 years with baseline femoral neck (FN) bone mineral density (BMD) T-scores < or =-2.0 and lumbar spine (LS) BMD T-scores < or =-1.0 or LS BMD T-scores < or =-2.0, FN BMD T-scores < or =-1.0, and BMD T-scores > or =-4.0 at any site assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The primary endpoint was mean percent change from baseline in LS BMD at 1 year (intent-to-treat [ITT] population). Secondary endpoints included mean BMD changes from baseline at the FN, total hip (TH), and trochanter (TR) and changes in bone turnover markers (BTMs), as measured by the bone resorption marker serum C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (sCTX) and the bone formation marker bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP). All men received twice daily calcium carbonate (1000 mg/day) and vitamin D (400 IU/day). Changes in BMD for treatment groups were compared using analysis of covariance with treatment, investigative site, and baseline testosterone as factors and baseline BMD as a covariate.

RESULTS

The ITT population consisted of 132 men; 47 received placebo and 85 received monthly ibandronate. Men who received ibandronate achieved greater increases in LS BMD at 12 months than those who received placebo (3.5% vs. 0.9%, respectively; difference, 2.6; p<0.001). The ibandronate group also achieved greater 12-month BMD increases than the placebo group, respectively, at the TH (1.8% vs. -0.3%; difference, 2.1; p<0.001), FN (1.2% vs. -0.2%; difference, 1.4; p=0.012), and TR (2.2% vs. 0.4%; difference, 1.7; p<0.005). In men who completed the study and adhered to the protocol (per-protocol (PP) population), percent decreases in median sCTX and BSAP levels from baseline were also greater with ibandronate versus placebo (p< or =0.001 for both comparisons). Overall, monthly ibandronate was well tolerated.

CONCLUSIONS

In men with low BMD, 1 year of treatment with oral once-monthly 150-mg ibandronate significantly increased BMD at the LS and hip (TH, TR, and FN), significantly reduced BTM levels in the PP population, and was generally well tolerated.

Monthly ibandronate suppresses serum CTX-I within 3 days and maintains a monthly fluctuating pattern of suppression

Bone turnover markers such as serum C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I) can be used to assess drug efficacy in osteoporosis. This study evaluated the pattern of CTX-I suppression in postmenopausal osteoporotic women receiving ibandronate. Ibandronate decreased serum CTX-I levels within 3 days of therapy initiation. Over 6 months, the levels remained suppressed below baseline.

INTRODUCTION

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the rapidity of onset and pattern of suppression of the bone resorption marker serum CTX-I in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) who received once-monthly oral ibandronate.

METHODS

Women diagnosed with PMO received once-monthly oral ibandronate (150 mg) or placebo for 6 months. Serum CTX-I was measured at baseline and after study dose administration on day 3 (month 1 only) and days 7, 14, 21, and 28 (months 1-6). Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase was measured on days 7 and 28 (months 1-6).

RESULTS

This study enrolled 67 women: 49 received ibandronate, 17 received placebo, and one took no study drug. At day 3, median reduction in serum CTX-I from baseline was 70.2% with ibandronate and 6.0% with placebo (difference, -64.2%; 95% confidence interval, -80.3% to -46.2%; p < 0.0001). In women receiving ibandronate, serum CTX-I levels remained consistently below baseline, exhibiting a regular monthly fluctuating pattern of suppression over 6 months. Ibandronate was well-tolerated.

CONCLUSIONS

Monthly ibandronate decreased serum CTX-I within 3 days. Over 6 months, in women receiving once-monthly ibandronate, serum CTX-I remained suppressed below baseline. A monthly fluctuation, related to time from last dose, was observed.

Nebulized fluticasone propionate vs. budesonide as adjunctive treatment in children with asthma exacerbation

OBJECTIVES

To compare the effects of nebulized fluticasone propionate (FP) and nebulized budesonide (BUD) in addition to inhaled salbutamol in children with mild asthma exacerbation.

METHODS

The study was a multicenter, randomized, single-blind, parallel group design. One hundred and sixty-eight children, aged 4-15 years, were randomly allocated to receive either nebulized FP (250 mcg) or nebulized BUD (500 mcg) twice daily for 10 days. On presentation, at the end of treatment, and after a 7-day follow-up, clinical assessment and pulmonary function measurements were performed. Daytime and nighttime asthma symptom scores, the use of rescue salbutamol, and morning/evening peak expiratory flow (PEF) values were recorded at home during the treatment period. Morning cortisol concentration (51 children) and overnight urinary cortisol excretion (30 children) were also measured in six centers at the start and at the end of the treatment.

RESULTS

Improvement of morning PEF was significantly higher in patients treated with FP (p=0.032). The percentage of symptom-free nights was significantly higher in the BUD group (p=0.006), but no difference was found in symptom-free days. No intergroup difference was detected in the percentage of days/nights free from rescue medication and in pulmonary function tests performed in outpatient settings. There was no evidence of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression.

CONCLUSIONS

A short course of nebulized FP has the same effects as a double dose of nebulized BUD, when either drug is added to bronchodilator therapy in children with mild asthma exacerbation

Fluticasone propionate downregulates nasal fibroblast functions involved in airway inflammation and remodeling

BACKGROUND

Besides being highly effective in the treatment of allergic and nonallergic rhinitis with eosinophilia, intranasal corticosteroids appear to be useful in reducing nasal polypoid lesions and the likelihood of polyp recurrence after surgery. We evaluated the ability of fluticasone propionate to downregulate fibroblast functions related to nasal inflammation and remodeling.

METHODS

Primary nasal polyp tissue-derived fibroblasts were stimulated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha or interleukin (IL)-4 or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the presence of fluticasone propionate (0.1-100 nM). Fibroblast proliferation, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 expression and eotaxin release were then evaluated.

RESULTS

As compared with unstimulated cultures, a significant increase in fibroblast proliferation was observed when the cells were stimulated with bFGF (p < 0.05), but not with TNF-alpha or IL-4 (p > 0.05). TNF-alpha induced an upregulation of ICAM-1 expression (p < 0.05), which was not seen in fibroblasts cultured in the presence of IL-4 or bFGF. No changes in VCAM-1 expression were induced by TNF-alpha, IL-4 or bFGF, whereas both TNF-alpha and IL-4 increased eotaxin release (p < 0.05). Both bFGF-induced fibroblast proliferation and TNF-alpha-induced ICAM-1 expression were significantly reduced by fluticasone, starting at the dose of 1 and 10 nM, respectively (p < 0.05). Fluticasone at concentrations of 1-100 nM effectively inhibited eotaxin release by TNF-alpha- or IL-4-stimulated fibroblasts (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The pharmacologic activity of fluticasone in patients with chronic upper airway inflammatory disease may include inhibition of resident fibroblast functions involved in airway inflammation and remodeling.

Novel anti-inflammatory effects of the inhaled corticosteroid fluticasone propionate during lung myofibroblastic differentiation

Asthma is characterized by an irreversible subepithelial fibrosis with the appearance of myofibroblasts, which can be now considered important early participants in inflammatory responses as well as potential targets for anti-inflammatory drugs. In this study, we show that fluticasone propionate (FP), a powerful inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), displays novel anti-inflammatory effects on human lung fibroblasts during their myofibroblastic differentiation. Indeed, FP inhibits in lung myofibroblasts, at a very early stage of differentiation, the activation of Janus kinase/STAT pathways induced by IL-13 (tyrosine kinase 2, STAT1, STAT3, STAT6, mitogen-activated protein kinase). Contrarily, in mildly or fully differentiated myofibroblastic cultures, FP still displays a potential anti-inflammatory activity even if it only inhibits tyrosine kinase 2 phosphorylation. Moreover, FP inhibits constitutive and TGF-beta-induced expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin, the main marker of myofibroblastic differentiation, both in very early and in mild differentiated myofibroblasts. Finally, FP displays an additional powerful anti-inflammatory effect, decreasing nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB independent of the degree of myofibroblastic differentiation. These data 1) suggest that myofibroblasts are priority targets for ICS, which is able to revert them to a normal phenotype even if they appear to be already engaged in their differentiation, and 2) may help to explain why asthma is improved by an early ICS treatment, whereas advanced asthma is more resistant to these drugs.

Fluticasone and salmeterol downregulate in vitro, fibroblast proliferation and ICAM-1 or H-CAM expression

Beta2-adrenoreceptor agonists have pharmacological properties that may suggest an inhibitory effect on various aspects of the inflammatory and repair processes that characterize asthma. Since fibroblasts express beta2-adrenoreceptors, the effects of different concentrations (0.1-100 nM) of fluticasone propionate (FP), salmeterol (S) and their combination (FP+S) on lung fibroblast proliferation and adhesion molecule expression were evaluated. Stimulation of human foetal lung fibroblasts with a fibrogenic cytokine, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), resulted in a [methyl-3H] thymidine ([3H]TdR) uptake, four-fold higher than that of control cultures (p=0.0001) and was significantly inhibited by S, at all the concentrations tested (0.1-100 nM; p<0.05). No changes in bFGF-induced cell proliferation were observed in the presence of FP (0.1-100 nM; p>0.05, all comparisons). In addition, the association FP+S did not improve the inhibitory activity of S alone (p>0.05, each comparison). An upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression was induced by tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) (p=0.0004), but not by interleukin-4 (IL-4) (p>0.05), while none of the two cytokines were able to increase hyaluronic-cellular adhesion molecule (H-CAM) expression by lung fibroblasts (p>0.05). A significant downregulation of ICAM-1 or H-CAM expression was demonstrated in the presence of FP or S, at all concentrations tested (0.1-100 nM; p<0.01, each comparison). Interestingly, S (10 nM and 100 nM) was able to enhance the inhibitory activity of FP on ICAM-1 expression (p<0.01), but not on H-CAM expression (p>0.1). These results show that in human foetal lung fibroblasts, fluticasone propionate and salmeterol are effective in modulating in vitro, different lung fibroblast biological functions that are likely to be involved in airway remodelling.

Critical role of CD23 in allergen-induced bronchoconstriction in a murine model of allergic asthma

CD23-deficient and anti-CD23 monoclonal antibody-treated mice were used to investigate the role of the low-affinity receptor for IgE (CD23) in allergic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). While there were no significant differences in ovalbumin (OVA)-specific IgE titers and tissue eosinophilia, evaluation of lung function demonstrated that CD23-/- mice showed an increased AHR to methacholine (MCh) when compared to wild-type mice but were completely resistant to the OVA challenge. Anti-CD23 Fab fragment treatment of wild-type mice did not affect the MCh-induced AHR but significantly reduced the OVA-induced airway constriction. These results imply a novel role for CD23 in lung inflammation and suggest that anti-CD23 Fab fragment treatment may be of therapeutic use in allergic asthma.