Nervin Lawendy

Tofacitinib as Induction and Maintenance Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND Tofacitinib, an oral, small‐molecule Janus kinase inhibitor, was shown to have potential efficacy as induction therapy for ulcerative colitis in a phase 2 trial. We further evaluated the efficacy of tofacitinib as induction and maintenance therapy. METHODS We conducted three phase 3, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials of tofacitinib therapy in adults with ulcerative colitis. In the OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2 trials, 598 and 541 patients, respectively, who had moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis despite previous conventional therapy or therapy with a tumor necrosis factor antagonist were randomly assigned to receive induction therapy with tofacitinib (10 mg twice daily) or placebo for 8 weeks. The primary end point was remission at 8 weeks. In the OCTAVE Sustain trial, 593 patients who had a clinical response to induction therapy were randomly assigned to receive maintenance therapy with tofacitinib (either 5 mg or 10 mg twice daily) or placebo for 52 weeks. The primary end point was remission at 52 weeks. RESULTS In the OCTAVE Induction 1 trial, remission at 8 weeks occurred in 18.5% of the patients in the tofacitinib group versus 8.2% in the placebo group (P=0.007); in the OCTAVE Induction 2 trial, remission occurred in 16.6% versus 3.6% (P<0.001). In the OCTAVE Sustain trial, remission at 52 weeks occurred in 34.3% of the patients in the 5‐mg tofacitinib group and 40.6% in the 10‐mg tofacitinib group versus 11.1% in the placebo group (P<0.001 for both comparisons with placebo). In the OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2 trials, the rates of overall infection and serious infection were higher with tofacitinib than with placebo. In the OCTAVE Sustain trial, the rate of serious infection was similar across the three treatment groups, and the rates of overall infection and herpes zoster infection were higher with tofacitinib than with placebo. Across all three trials, adjudicated nonmelanoma skin cancer occurred in five patients who received tofacitinib and in one who received placebo, and adjudicated cardiovascular events occurred in five who received tofacitinib and in none who received placebo; as compared with placebo, tofacitinib was associated with increased lipid levels. CONCLUSIONS In patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, tofacitinib was more effective as induction and maintenance therapy than placebo. (Funded by Pfizer; OCTAVE Induction 1, OCTAVE Induction 2, and OCTAVE Sustain ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01465763, NCT01458951, and NCT01458574, respectively.)

Effect of CP-690,550, an Orally Active Janus Kinase Inhibitor, on Renal Function in Healthy Adult Volunteers

CP‐690,550 is a Janus kinase inhibitor being developed to prevent allograft rejection and treat several autoimmune diseases. This study examines the effect of multiple doses of CP‐690,550 on renal function in healthy volunteers. Thirty‐four volunteers are randomized in a 2:1 ratio in a double‐blinded manner to receive CP‐690,550 15 mg twice daily or placebo twice daily for 14 days. Volunteers are confined in‐house to receive a controlled regimen of water intake and sodium intake of 4 to 5 g/d. The effect of CP‐690,550 on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is measured by iohexol serum clearance, effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) by para‐aminohippuric acid (PAH) urinary clearance, and creatinine clearance by 24‐hour urine collection on day 1 (predose) and day 15. Steady‐state pharmacokinetics and tolerability are assessed. Comparing the day 15 and day 1 (predose) values shows that geometric mean ratios for iohexol serum clearance, PAH urinary clearance, and creatinine clearance are 0.995, 0.925, and 0.948, respectively. When adjusted for the corresponding placebo day ratios, the geometric mean ratios are 1.09, 0.978, and 1.05, respectively. CP‐690,550 is well tolerated. These findings indicate that CP‐690,550 does not affect GFR, ERPF, or creatinine clearance in healthy volunteers.

Herpes Zoster Infection in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Receiving Tofacitinib

Abstract Background Tofacitinib is an oral, small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor that is being investigated for ulcerative colitis (UC). Tofacitinib is approved for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, where it has been shown to increase herpes zoster (HZ) risk. We evaluated HZ risk among UC patients using tofacitinib. Methods HZ cases were identified in tofacitinib phase II/III/ongoing, open-label, long-term extension (OLE) UC trials. We calculated HZ incidence rates (IRs) per 100 patient-years of tofacitinib exposure within phase III maintenance (Maintenance Cohort) and phase II/III/OLE (Overall Cohort) studies, stratified by baseline demographics and other factors. HZ risk factors were evaluated in the Overall Cohort using Cox proportional hazard models. Results Overall, 65 (5.6%) patients developed HZ. Eleven patients had multidermatomal involvement (2 nonadjacent or 3–6 adjacent dermatomes), and 1 developed encephalitis (resolved upon standard treatment). Five (7.7%) events led to treatment discontinuation. HZ IR (95% confidence interval [CI]) in the Overall Cohort was 4.07 (3.14–5.19) over a mean (range) of 509.1 (1–1606) days, with no increased risk observed with increasing tofacitinib exposure. IRs (95% CI) were highest in patients age ≥65 years, 9.55 (4.77–17.08); Asian patients, 6.49 (3.55–10.89); patients with prior tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) failure, 5.38 (3.86–7.29); and patients using tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily, 4.25 (3.18–5.56). Multivariate analysis identified older age and prior TNFi failure as independent risk factors. Conclusions In tofacitinib-treated UC patients, there was an elevated risk of HZ, although complicated HZ was infrequent. Increased HZ rates occurred in patients who were older, Asian, or had prior TNFi failure (NCT00787202, NCT01465763, NCT01458951, NCT01458574, NCT01470612).

Outcomes of Pregnancies With Maternal/Paternal Exposure in the Tofacitinib Safety Databases for Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract Background Active inflammatory bowel disease increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Tofacitinib is an oral, small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). As a small molecule, tofacitinib is likely to cross the placental barrier; however, information on the effects of tofacitinib on pregnancy outcomes is limited. We report pregnancy and newborn outcomes among patients in UC clinical studies with prenatal (maternal/paternal) exposure to tofacitinib. Methods Pregnancies with maternal/paternal exposure to tofacitinib were identified and outcomes reported in 5 tofacitinib UC interventional studies (up to March 2017). Outcomes from tofacitinib rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis interventional studies, and RA noninterventional postapproval safety studies, spontaneous adverse event reporting, and registry data are also reported. Results Of 1157 patients enrolled in the UC interventional studies, 301 were women of childbearing age. Eleven cases of maternal exposure and 14 cases of paternal exposure to tofacitinib (doses of 5 mg or 10 mg twice daily) before/at the time of conception or during pregnancy were identified. Outcomes included 15 healthy newborns, no fetal deaths, no neonatal deaths, no congenital malformations, 2 spontaneous abortions, and 2 medical terminations. Outcomes across other tofacitinib studies and postmarketing cases were consistent, with a healthy newborn being the most common outcome and no fetal deaths. Conclusions Based on the limited data available, pregnancy and newborn outcomes among patients with prenatal (maternal/paternal) exposure to tofacitinib in UC studies appear similar to those reported for other tofacitinib clinical study populations and the general population.

Tofacitinib Induction Therapy Reduces Symptoms Within 3 Days for Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Tofacitinib is an oral, small molecule inhibitor of JAK for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). We evaluated the onset of symptom improvement in post‐hoc analyses of data from 2 phase 3 trials of induction therapy with tofacitinib in patients with UC (OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2). METHODS: The studies comprised patients with moderate to severe active UC who were intolerant to, or failed by previous treatment with, corticosteroids, thiopurines, and/or tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists. Patients received tofacitinib (10 mg twice daily, n = 905) or placebo (n = 234) for 8 weeks. Daily Mayo stool frequency and rectal bleeding subscores were calculated using diary data from the first 15 days of therapy. We analyzed data from subgroups including failure of prior anti‐TNF therapy, baseline corticosteroid use, and baseline serum levels of C‐reactive protein. RESULTS: Mean changes were significantly greater in patients given tofacitinib vs placebo in reductions from baseline stool frequency subscore (tofacitinib: –0.27 vs placebo: –0.11; P < .01), total number of daily bowel movements (–1.06 vs –0.27; P < .0001), and rectal bleeding subscore (–0.30 vs –0.14; P < .01) by day 3. Compared with placebo, more tofacitinib‐treated patients had reductions from baseline in stool frequency subscore (by ≥1 point for tofacitinib, 241/837, 28.8% vs placebo, 39/218, 17.9%) (P < .01) and rectal bleeding subscore (by ≥1 point for tofacitinib, 266/830, 32.0% vs placebo, 43/214, 20.1%) (P < .01) by day 3. A consistent effect of tofacitinib was observed in all subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: In a post‐hoc analysis of data from phase 3 trials of induction therapy with tofacitinib in patients with UC, we found significant improvements in symptoms among patients given tofacitinib compared with placebo within 3 days. These findings indicate the rapid onset of effect of this drug in patients with UC. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT01465763 and NCT01458951.

The effect of mild and moderate hepatic impairment on the pharmacokinetics of tofacitinib, an orally active Janus kinase inhibitor

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We report here an evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of a single 10 mg dose of tofacitinib in healthy volunteers (n = 6) and subjects with mild (n = 6) or moderate (n = 6) hepatic impairment. Compared to healthy volunteers, tofacitinib area under the plasma concentration–time profile from time 0 to infinity (AUCinf) and maximum observed concentration (Cmax) in subjects with mild hepatic impairment were not altered. In subjects with moderate hepatic impairment, the geometric mean AUCinf and Cmax of tofacitinib were increased (90% confidence intervals of percentage increase) by approximately 65% (25%, 117%) and 49% (12%, 97%), respectively. A single dose of tofacitinib 10 mg resulted in two treatment‐emergent adverse events (AE) in the mild hepatic impairment group, and one in the moderate hepatic impairment group; they were not considered related to study treatment. There were no deaths, serious AEs, discontinuations due to AEs, or dose reductions due to AEs. Data from this study were critical to deriving dose adjustments for subjects with hepatic impairment.

PTU-001 Tofacitinib, an oral jak inhibitor, in the treatment of ulcerative colitis: open-label, long-term extension study

Introduction Tofacitinib is an oral, small molecule JAK inhibitor that is being investigated for ulcerative colitis (UC). The efficacy and safety of tofacitinib was demonstrated as induction and maintenance therapy in 3 Phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled studies (OCTAVE Induction 1, NCT01465763; OCTAVE Induction 2, NCT01458951; OCTAVE Sustain, NCT01458574) in patients (pts) with moderate to severe UC.1 Methods We present interim safety and efficacy data up to 3 years of treatment (as of 8 July 2016) from an ongoing Phase 3, multicentre, open-label, long-term extension study (OLE; NCT01470612) in pts who had completed or demonstrated treatment failure in OCTAVE Sustain, or who were non-responders after completing OCTAVE Induction 1 or 2. Pts in remission at Week 52 of OCTAVE Sustain received tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID); all others received 10 mg BID. At Month 2, all pts underwent endoscopy, and non-responders from Induction were mandated to withdraw if no evidence of clinical response was shown. Remission was defined by a Mayo score ≤2 with no individual subscore >1, and rectal bleeding subscore of 0. Binary efficacy endpoints were derived from Mayo score, based on local-read endoscopic subscore. Results 914 pts (5 mg BID, n=156 [17.1%]; 10 mg BID, n=758 [82.9%]) received ≥1 dose of study drug; 381 pts (41.7%) discontinued. The most frequent AE leading to discontinuation was worsening of UC. The most frequent treatment-emergent AEs by system organ class (both doses) were ‘infections/infestations’ and ‘gastrointestinal disorders’, and by preferred term were ‘nasopharyngitis’ and ‘worsening of UC’. Serious infections AEs were reported in 4 (2.6%) and 14 (1.8%) pts with 5 and 10 mg BID, respectively. Malignancies excl. NMSC were reported in 9 (1.2%) pts in the 10 mg BID group (no clustering of malignancy type); none were reported in the 5 mg BID group. No new safety risks were identified. Data ‘as observed’ for remission and mucosal healing at Months 2, 12 and 24 are shown. Conclusions In pts with moderate to severe UC who remained in the OLE study, no new safety concerns emerged compared with those observed with tofacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis. Efficacy results from this OLE study support sustained efficacy with tofacitinib 5 and 10 mg BID. Funded by Pfizer Inc.Abstract PTU-001 Table 1 Summary of safety and efficacy is the OLE study Reference 1. Sandborn WJ, et al. N Engl J Med 2017;376:1723–36.