Comparative efficacy and tolerability of sarilumab 150 and 200 mg in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis : A Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the relative efficacy and tolerability of every other week (q2w) dosing of sarilumab 150 and 200 mg in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In this network meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy and tolerability of sarilumab in patients with active RA were included. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted to combine the direct and indirect evidence from the RCTs.

Results: Four RCTs, involving 2667 patients, met the inclusion criteria. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR)50 response rate was significantly higher in the sarilumab 200 mg and sarilumab 200 mg + methotrexate (MTX) groups than in the placebo + MTX group (odds ratio, OR, of 4.05, 95% credible interval, CrI, of 2.04-8.33 and OR of 3.75, 95% CrI of 2.37-5.72, respectively). Compared to the placebo + MTX group, the sarilumab 150 mg + MTX and adalimumab 40 mg groups showed a significantly higher ACR50 response rate. The ranking probability based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) indicated that sarilumab 200 mg was likely to achieve the best ACR50 response rate (SUCRA = 0.8518), followed by sarilumab 200 mg + MTX (SUCRA = 0.8225), sarilumab 150 mg + MTX (SUCRA = 0.5112), adalimumab 40 mg (SUCRA = 0.3072), and placebo + MTX (SUCRA = 0.0072). The ACR50 and ACR70 response rate distributions were comparable, except that sarilumab 200 mg + MTX was likely to achieve the best ACR70 response rate. The tolerability based on the number of patient withdrawals due to adverse events (AEs) did not differ significantly between the treatments, except that placebo + MTX was likely to be the best tolerated.

Conclusion: Sarilumab 150 and 200 mg are efficacious treatments for active RA and are well tolerated.

Keywords: Efficacy; Network meta-analysis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Sarilumab; Tolerability.