Key clinical point: Despite failing to achieve 20% or higher improvement in American College of Rheumatology (ACR20) criteria at week 104, some patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) receiving long-term treatment with apremilast experienced meaningful clinical benefits not completely captured by ACR20 response criteria.
Major finding: At week 104 of apremilast treatment, 58.0%, 41.7%, and 44.3% of patients who failed to achieve ACR20 had a mean improvement in swollen joint count, tender joint count, and Physician’s Global Assessment scores, respectively. Additionally, 33.8% and 68.2% of these patients achieved resolution of enthesitis and dactylitis.
Study details: Findings are pooled analysis of phase 3 studies, PALACE 1 , 2, and 3, and included patients randomly assigned to 30 mg apremilast twice daily and classified into those who did not achieve (n = 109) and those who achieved (n = 193) ACR20 response at week 104.
Disclosures: This study was funded by Celgene. All investigators reported ties with various sources including Celgene.
Source: Mease PJ et al. Rheumatol Ther. 2021 Sep 18. doi: 10.1007/s40744-021-00369-x.