The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / 20 Years of RA Data: First-Line Biologic & Targeted Synthetic DMARD Trends

20 Years of RA Data: First-Line Biologic & Targeted Synthetic DMARD Trends

September 1, 2021 • By Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

EULAR—Over the past 20 years, a medical center in Ankara, Turkey, has collected data on the real-life treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which appear to be consistent with treatment guidelines. During EULAR 2021, June 2–5, Ali Ihsan Ertenli, MD, presented a study exploring the first-line biologic treatment trends for patients with RA at this medical center using data from the Hacettepe University Rheumatology Biologic Registry (HUR-BIO) from 2001–20.1

You Might Also Like
  • Biologic Spending & Price Trends
  • Physician’s Choice: Factors That Influence First- & Second-Line Biologic Therapy in RA Patients
  • Hidradenitis Suppurativa Can Complicate Biologic Therapy
Also By This Author
  • Early Data on Novel MK2 Inhibitor to Treat Inflammatory Diseases Promising

The registry captures biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) use and patient data related to demographics, disease and treatment, as well as adverse events experienced by these patients. Limited serologic data were also reported. Patients who began bDMARDs in 2005 were automatically registered for the study, and patients who commenced bDMARDs prior to 2005 were retrospectively registered.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

The Data

The distribution of first-line biologic treatments was calculated in five-year increments, starting in 2001. By the end of 2020, 2,080 patients with RA were registered in HUR-BIO, mostly women (79.5%) with a mean age of 53.3±17.8 years when first prescribed a bDMARD. The rate of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide positivity was 61%, and the rate of rheumatoid factor positivity was 67.8%.

The rates of patients prescribed their first bDMARDs were:

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE
  • 2% (n=65) from 2001–05;
  • 1% (n=335) from 2006–10;
  • 2% (n=858) from 2011–15; and
  • 5% (n=822) from 2016–20.

Multiple treatments were approved in Turkey during the study period: infliximab in 2003, etanercept in 2004, adalimumab in 2005, rituximab in 2009, abatacept in 2010, golimumab in 2013, tocilizumab in 2013, certolizumab in 2014 and tofacitinib in 2015.

The distribution of actual first-prescribed bDMARD treatments by five-year periods were:

  • 2001–05: 100% anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α agents (adalimumab: 23%; etanercept: 46%; infliximab: 31%);
  • 2006–10: 96.4% anti-TNF-α agents (adalimumab: 33%; etanercept: 46%; infliximab: 17%) and 4% rituximab;
  • 2011–15: 65% anti-TNF-α agents (adalimumab: 22%; etanercept: 27%; infliximab: 8%), 18% abatacept, 16% rituximab, 4% golimumab, 4% certolizumab, 1% tocilizumab, 0.7% tofacitinib; and
  • 2016–20: 40% anti-TNF-α agents (adalimumab: 19%; etanercept: 7%; infliximab: 1%), 26% tofacitinib, 12% tocilizumab, 12% abatacept, 10% rituximab, 8% certolizumab and 5% golimumab.

Etanercept was the most commonly prescribed anti-TNF-α agent. However, as time progressed, researchers found an increase in the use of non-anti-TNF-α bDMARDs, including a rise in the use of Janus kinase inhibitors (jakinibs) during the last five-years evaluated (2016–20).

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP, is a freelance medical writer based in New York City and a pharmacist at New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital.

Reference

  1. Ertenli AI, Kalyoncu U, Karadag O, et al. Trends in the choice of first biologic and targeted synthetic DMARD in rheumatoid arthritis patients: 20-years journey of HUR-BIO real-life registry [abstract AB0200]. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021; 80(suppl 1):1124.2–1124.

Pages: 1 2 | Multi-Page

Filed Under: Biologics & Biosimilars, Drug Updates Tagged With: biologic drugs, EULAR 2021, RA Resource Center, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), trends

You Might Also Like:
  • Biologic Spending & Price Trends
  • Physician’s Choice: Factors That Influence First- & Second-Line Biologic Therapy in RA Patients
  • Hidradenitis Suppurativa Can Complicate Biologic Therapy
  • Reassuring Data on Cancer Risk with Contemporary RA Drugs

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)