Investigational Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Shows Promise in Late-Stage Study

Lilly and Incyte have recently announced positive results from the second phase 3 study of their investigational drug baricitinib, a potential treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The placebo-controlled study evaluated 2 doses of once-daily baricitinib in 684 patients with RA who previously had an inadequate response to or were intolerant of at least one conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (cDMARD) and had not received a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD). The research team found that patients treated with baricitinib experienced a statistically significant improvement compared with those who received placebo.

“Despite treatment advances, many people with RA continue to experience active disease, including pain, joint stiffness, disability, and progressive joint damage,” said Rich Levy, MD, chief drug development and medical officer of Incyte, in a press release. “These results suggest that baricitinib could provide an additional treatment option for patients who are not responding to conventional drugs.”

Serious adverse events experienced by baricitinib-treated patients were comparable with those reported by patients given placebo. The most common adverse events associated with baricitinib in this study were consistent with those reported in prior studies of baricitinib in RA.

Lilly and Incyte had previously announced positive results from the first phase 3 trial of baricitinib in December 2014, and plan to present detailed data from both studies at scientific meetings in 2015.