Key clinical point: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients showed similar improvements in clinical and patient-reported outcomes after 1 year of treatment regardless of whether they started with a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) or a non-TNFi drug.

Major finding: A propensity score matching model showed that after 1 year of treatment there were no differences between the two groups on the Clinical Disease Activity Index (according to achieving low disease activity, remission, minimum clinically important difference, or changes in score over time), problems with sleep and anxiety, or changes in Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index score, EuroQol-5 Dimension score, morning stiffness, and fatigue.

Study details: An analysis of 4,186 RA patients who initiated treatment with a TNFi and 630 who started treatment with a non-TNFi (abatacept, tocilizumab, rituximab, anakinra, or tofacitinib) during 2001-2018 in the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry (Corrona).

Disclosures: The study was funded by Corrona, LLC, and the analysis was funded by Regeneron and Sanofi. Several authors are employed by, or were former employees of, Sanofi or Regeneron. Corrona has been supported through contracted subscriptions in the last 2 years by Regeneron and 19 other pharmaceutical companies.