Clinical trials: Phase III trial results for tofacitinib bring new oral DMARD therapy a step closer for patients with rheumatoid arthritis

摘要

Two phase III trials of the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib have produced favourable results in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The studies, which were funded by Pfizer, the manufacturer of tofacitinib, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, assessed the efficacy and safety of the drug as monotherapy versus placebo in patients for whom other DMARDs had failed, and as an alternative to adalimumab in combination with methotrexate in patients with an incomplete response to methotrexate.