J&J's Tremfya Shows Strong 48-Week Results In Phase 3b Psoriatic Arthritis Study

(RTTNews) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Monday announced new data from the Phase 3b APEX study showing that Tremfya continued to reduce both signs and symptoms of active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and inhibit progression of structural damage at 48 weeks.

At week 24, Tremfya demonstrated two and a half times greater ability to inhibit joint structural damage versus placebo with results consistent for patients with active PsA receiving Tremfya every four weeks (or every eight weeks, as assessed by the PsA-modified van der Heijde-Sharp (vdH-S) score.

The 24 Week data from the APEX study was recently published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Additionally, for patients in the study's placebo group, who switched to Tremfya at Week 24, the rate of radiographic progression from baseline to Week 24 (0.96) was reduced by 57% (to 0.41) from Week 24 through Week 48, as measured by mean change in the PsA-modified vdH-S score.

"Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic condition where joint damage can begin early and progress quickly if left untreated," said Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH of the University of Rochester Medical Center and APEX study investigator.c "The APEX study results show that guselkumab can inhibit this process, even once it has begun, making it a valuable treatment option for both initiating treatment early and for patients who already show signs of joint damage."

Tremfya is the first and only fully-human, dual-acting monoclonal antibody approved to treat PsA that blocks IL-23 while also binding to CD64, a receptor on cells that produce IL-23.