Key clinical point: The safety profile of upadacitinib was similar to adalimumab for serious infections, malignancies, venous thromboembolism, and major adverse cardiac events when used to treat adults with rheumatoid arthritis.

Major finding: Doses of upadacitinib at either 15 mg or 30 mg yielded similar safety profiles to adalimumab on most serious adverse events and cardiovascular events, but rates of herpes zoster, creatine phosphokinase elevations were higher compared with both adalimumab and methotrexate.

Study details: The data come from a review of five randomized, controlled, phase 3 trials including 3,834 adults with rheumatoid arthritis who received at least one dose of upadacitinib at 15 mg or 30 mg for a total of 4,020.1 patient-years of exposure.

Disclosures: The study was supported by AbbVie. Lead author Dr. Cohen disclosed relationships with AbbVie and other companies, including Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead, Pfizer, Roche, and Sandoz.