UMMS Affiliation
Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
Publication Date
2-18-2014
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Musculoskeletal Diseases | Rheumatology | Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The ALIGN study (NCT01061723) evaluated the efficacy and safety of sarilumab, the first fully human monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6 receptor-alpha (IL-6Ralpha), in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
METHODS: Patients with active AS despite conventional treatment were randomised to placebo, or one of five subcutaneous dose regimens of sarilumab (100, 150 or 200 mg every other week, or 100 or 150 mg every week), for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy end point was the percentage of patients achieving the Axial SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) 20 response criteria at week 12. Secondary endpoints included ASAS40 response, ASAS partial remission, AS Disease Activity Score, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) value, and safety.
RESULTS: Baseline demographic and disease characteristics of the 301 patients enrolled were similar across treatment groups. At week 12, there was no statistically significant difference in ASAS20 response rate between placebo (ASAS20 = 24.0%) and any sarilumab dose group. A significantly greater reduction in hs-CRP value was achieved with the higher sarilumab doses versus placebo. No other statistically significant differences were evident for secondary efficacy endpoints.The most common treatment-emergent adverse events reported for sarilumab included infections (non-serious), neutropenia, and increase in alanine aminotransferase. No cases of tuberculosis, opportunistic, or fungal infections, or bowel perforations were reported. Seven patients experienced a treatment-emergent serious adverse event (all in sarilumab treatment groups). No deaths occurred.
CONCLUSIONS: The ALIGN study shows that IL-6Ralpha blockade with sarilumab was not an effective treatment for AS. Sarilumab was generally well tolerated with a manageable safety profile.
Keywords
sarilumab, ankylosing spondylitis
DOI of Published Version
10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204963
Source
Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 Feb 18. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204963. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Annals of the rheumatic diseases
Related Resources
PubMed ID
24550171
Repository Citation
Sieper, Joachim; Braun, Jurgen; Kay, Jonathan; Badalamenti, Salvatore; Radin, Allen R.; Jiao, Lixia; Fiore, Stefano; Momtahen, Tanya; Yancopoulos, George D.; Stahl, Neil; and Inman, Robert D., "Sarilumab for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis: results of a Phase II, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (ALIGN)" (2014). Rheumatology Publications and Presentations. 109.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/rheumatology_pubs/109
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