Key clinical point: Filgotinib is an oral Janus kinase (JAK) 1 inhibitor in late clinical development for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: The primary endpoint of 20% improvement in American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR20) at week 12 was achieved by 69.8% of patients treated with filgotinib 100 mg/day, 76.6% of those treated with filgotinib 200 mg/day, 70.8% of those treated with adalimumab 40 mg every 2 weeks, and by 49.9% of patients given a daily placebo.

Study details: A 52-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, multicenter, phase 3 study conducted in 1,755 patients with moderate to severe RA who had an inadequate response to methotrexate.

Disclosures: The study was sponsored by Gilead Sciences in collaboration with Galapagos NV. Dr. Combe has received honoraria from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Genzyme, Sanofi, Regeneron, Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Flexion. Dr. Combe is a shareholder in Novartis.