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UCB have announced results from several phase III clinical trials evaluating Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) – the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) – presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting.
Results from the open-label extension study to rapid 1 met both coprimary endpoints. Results also showed that Cimzia together with methotrexate (MTX) provided ACR 20 response as early as week one with sustained long-term benefit in relieving symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through 100 weeks.
Another analysis, investigating the rapidity of response to Cimzia as a monotherapy and together with MTX (rapid 1), was presented at the meeting.
Both studies met their primary endpoints with clinical and statistical significance. The analysis presented showed that the response to Cimzia treatment was rapid in both studies with more than a third of patients receiving Cimzia as a monotherapy, and nearly a quarter of patients receiving Cimzia together with MTX (rapid 1) achieving an ACR20 response within one week, both significantly different from placebo.
Michael Schiff, study investigator and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine said: “The data show that treatment with Cimzia in clinical trials produced a fast and clinically meaningful effect for RA patients over an extended period of time.”
Additional data presented focused on the effect of treatment with Cimzia together with MTX in quality of life measurements. In rapid 1, nearly three-quarters of patients achieved improvements in physical function when treated with Cimzia together with MTX.
