April 27, 2023
Keio University School of Medicine
A research group from the Division of Rheumatology at the Keio University School of Medicine, led by Professor Yuko Kaneko and Project Assistant Professor Hiroya Tamai, has shown in an international collaborative clinical trial conducted with Eisai Co., Ltd. that the dose of concomitant methotrexate can be halved when initiating the TNF inhibitor adalimumab for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Worldwide, the recommended treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is to start with methotrexate and, in case of an inadequate response, add a drug that inhibits a substance called TNF, which is involved in the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. While it was known that the efficacy of TNF inhibitors is enhanced when used in combination with continued methotrexate, the required dose of methotrexate had not been fully clarified, and continuing the same dose was common practice. This clinical trial demonstrated that when adding adalimumab, a TNF inhibitor, halving the methotrexate dose resulted in non-inferior efficacy and a trend toward fewer adverse events.
This study is expected to help reduce adverse events and medical costs associated with initiating TNF inhibitors, allowing for safer treatment to be provided to patients.
The results of this study were published in Lancet Rheumatology on March 20, 2023 (UK time).
Please see below for the full press release.