A post-hoc analysis published in Lancet Rheumatology suggested that Janssen’s IL-23 inhibitor Tremfya (guselkumab) is effective in treating psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients with symptoms affecting the spine and sacroiliac (SI) joints. In addition, the patient subset had sustained improvement through 52 weeks.
The study focused on psoriatic arthritis patients in the company’s Phase 3 DISCOVER-1 and DISCOVER-2 studies with axial symptoms and sacroiliitis, an inflammation of one or both of the sacroiliac joints connecting the pelvis to the spine.
Among patients with psoriatic arthritis, sacroiliitis is a relatively common condition. One small study found that 38% of PsA patients had sacroiliitis.
Janssen plans a separate study to bolster the hypothesis that guselkumab improves spinal symptoms associated with psoriatic arthritis.
Tremfya (guselkumab) won FDA approval for adult patients with act…