Safety and Efficacy Study of Adalimumab in Adult Chinese Rheumatoid Arthritis Subjects Treated With Methotrexate

A Multi-center Randomized, Phase 2/3, Double-blind, Parallel-group, Placebo-controlled Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Adalimumab Administered as Subcutaneous Injections in Adult Chinese Rheumatoid Arthritis Subjects Treated With Methotrexate

A study to assess the safety and efficacy of adalimumab administered as a subcutaneous injection in adult Chinese subjects with rheumatoid arthritis and treated with methotrexate

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: Placebo; Biological: Adalimumab 80 mg; Biological: Adalimumab 40 mg

Detailed Description

This was a multi-center, Phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind (DB), parallel group, placebo controlled, safety and efficacy study in adult Chinese RA subjects. The duration of the study was approximately 116 weeks. This included a 4-week (28 days) Screening period, a 12-week Double-Blind (DB) period, a 90-week Open-Label (OL) Period, and a 10-week (70 days) Follow-up period. The 70-day Safety Follow-up period was initiated after the last dose of study medication.

During the DB period, 302 Chinese subjects with RA and concomitantly treated with MTX were enrolled at 11 clinical sites located throughout China. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups in a 2:2:1 ratio: 80 mg adalimumab, 40 mg adalimumab, or placebo. From Week 0 to Week 10, subjects received blinded study drug. Subjects who successfully participated and completed Week 12 of the DB portion of the study participated in the OL period. All subjects in the OL period received adalimumab 40 mg. Throughout the study, the study drug was administered subcutaneously (SC) every other week (eow).

Subjects that completed the Week 24 visit, prior to the approval of Protocol Amendment 1, had 70 days from the last dose of study drug to re-enter the study. The Investigator confirmed that the subject did not develop any of the exclusion criteria and completed the procedures defined by the OL Screening visit.

Results through Week 24 of this study were presented in the regulatory dossier for the marketing authorization application of Humira in China, fulfilling the requirement for clinical data in Chinese patients. However, in order to continue to provide treatment to patients who responded well to adalimumab, subjects had the option to continue in the OL extension of this study until Week 92.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 302
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Beijing, China, 100730
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6266
  • Beijing, China, 100853
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6241
  • Guangzhou, China, 510260
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6243
  • Guangzhou, China, 510630
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6247
  • Harbin, China, 150001
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6262
  • Hepingjiebeikou, China, 100029
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6248
  • Shanghai, China, 200001
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6250
  • Shanghai, China, 200032
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6828
  • Shanghai, China, 200433
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6333
  • Xi'an, China, 710032
    • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6264
  • Anhui
    • Hefei, Anhui, China, 230022
      • Site Reference ID/Investigator# 6259

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Met ACR criteria for diagnosis of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and have had at both the Screening visit and Week 0 visit at least four swollen joints (out of 66 assessed) and at least six tender joints(out of 68 assessed)
• Subjects must have failed prior treatment with one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
• DMARDs (other than methotrexate [MTX]) must have been discontinued for >= 28 days or at least 5 half-lives, whichever is greater, before the Week 0 visit
• Traditional Chinese Medicines must have been discontinued for >= 28 days before the Week 0 visit
• Subjects must have received at least three months of treatment with MTX (minimum 7.5 mg/week) and remained on a stable dose of MTX for >= 28 days prior to the Screening visit
• Glucocorticoids equivalent to <= 10 mg of prednisone and prednisone equivalent must have remained unchanged for at least 28 days prior to the Week 0 visit
• Must have been able and willing to give written informed consent and to comply with the requirements of this study protocol

Exclusion Criteria:

• A history of, or current, acute inflammatory joint disease of different origin (e.g., mixed connective tissue disease, seronegative spondyloarthropathy, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, fibromyalgia or any arthritide with onset prior to age 16 years
• Wheelchair-bound or bedridden
• Joint surgery involving joints to be assessed within this study, within two months prior to the Screening visit
• Intra-articular, intramuscular or intravenous administration of corticosteroids within 28 days prior to the Screening visit
• Prior treatment with any TNF antagonist, including adalimumab
• Subject considered by the investigator, for any reason, to be an unsuitable candidate
• Female subject who is pregnant or breast-feeding or considering becoming pregnant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Placebo administered subcutaneously every other week	Biological: Placebo; Placebo administered subcutaneously (SC) every other week (eow) for 12 weeks, followed by adalimumab 40 mg SC eow for 92 weeks.
Experimental: Adalimumab 80 mg; Adalimumab 80 mg administered subcutaneously every other week	Biological: Adalimumab 80 mg; Adalimumab 80 mg administered subcutaneously (SC) every other week (eow) for 12 weeks, followed by adalimumab 40 mg SC eow for 92 weeks.; Other Names: Humira
Experimental: Adalimumab 40 mg; Adalimumab 40 mg administered subcutaneously every other week	Biological: Adalimumab 40 mg; Adalimumab 40 mg administered subcutaneously every other week for 104 weeks; Other Names: Humira

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With American College of Rheumatology (ACR)20 at Week 12 of the Double-Blind Period	American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria improvement consisting of 20% (ACR20) reduction in tender or swollen joint counts and 20% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) subject's assessment of disease activity, 3) subject's assessment of pain, 4) subject's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit. Week 12 = end of Double-Blind period.	Week 12

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants Achieving American College of Rheumatology (ACR)50/70 at Week 12 of the Double-Blind Period	American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria improvement consisting of 50% or 70% (ACR50/70) reduction in tender or swollen joint counts and 50% or 70% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) subject's assessment of disease activity, 3) subject's assessment of pain, 4) subject's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit. Week 12 = end of Double-blind period.	Week 12
Number of Participants Achieving American College of Rheumatology (ACR)20 Response Through Week 92 of Open-Label Period	American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria improvement in a subject's disease condition versus Baseline consisting of 20% (ACR20) reduction in tender or swollen joint counts and 20/50/70% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) subject's assessment of disease activity, 3) subject's assessment of pain, 4) subject's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit.	Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Number of Participants Achieving American College of Rheumatology (ACR)50 Response Through Week 92 of Open-Label Period	American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria improvement in a subject's disease condition versus Baseline consisting of 50% (ACR50) reduction in tender or swollen joint counts and 20/50/70% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) subject's assessment of disease activity, 3) subject's assessment of pain, 4) subject's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit.	Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Number of Participants Achieving American College of Rheumatology (ACR)70 Response Through Week 92 of Open-Label Period	American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria improvement in a subject's disease condition versus Baseline consisting of 70% (ACR70) reduction in tender or swollen joint counts and 20/50/70% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) subject's assessment of disease activity, 3) subject's assessment of pain, 4) subject's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit.	Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in Tender Joint Count (TJC) and Swollen Joint Count (SJC) at Week 12 of the Double-Blind Period	Sixty-eight or 66 joints or regions (34 or 32 per body side [hip joints excluded]) were assessed by pressure and joint manipulation on physical examination for tender joint count (TJC) or swollen joint count (SJC), respectively. Both joint tenderness and swelling were classified as either present ("1"), absent ("0"), replaced ("9"), or no assessment ("NA"). The Total TJC or SJC was derived as the sum of all 1s evaluated; the range for TJC and SJC were 0 - 68 and 0 - 66, respectively. The higher the joint count, the worse the rheumatoid arthritis. Week 12 = end of Double-Blind period.	Baseline, Week 12
Mean Change in Tender Joint Count (TJC) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	Sixty-eight or 66 joints or regions (34 or 32 per body side [hip joints excluded]) were assessed by pressure and joint manipulation on physical examination for tender joint count (TJC) or swollen joint count (SJC), respectively. Both joint tenderness and swelling were classified as either present ("1"), absent ("0"), replaced ("9"), or no assessment ("NA"). The Total TJC or SJC was derived as the sum of all 1s evaluated; the range for TJC and SJC were 0 - 68 and 0 - 66, respectively. The higher the joint count, the worse the rheumatoid arthritis. Week 12 = end of Double-Blind period.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in Swollen Joint Count (SJC) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	Sixty-eight or 66 joints or regions (34 or 32 per body side [hip joints excluded]) were assessed by pressure and joint manipulation on physical examination for tender joint count (TJC) or swollen joint count (SJC), respectively. Both joint tenderness and swelling were classified as either present ("1"), absent ("0"), replaced ("9"), or no assessment ("NA"). The Total TJC or SJC was derived as the sum of all 1s evaluated; the range for TJC and SJC were 0 - 68 and 0 - 66, respectively. The higher the joint count, the worse the rheumatoid arthritis. Week 12 = end of Double-Blind period.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at Week 12 of the Double-Blind Period	Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for the physician's (PhGA) and patient's (PGA) global assessment of disease activity and the patient's assessment of pain. PhGA assessed the patient's current status, PGA assessed status within the last 24 h, and patient's assessment of pain assessed pain status during the last week. All 3 assessments were scored on a 100 mm horizontal scale. The scores range from 0 (no symptoms) to 100 (maximum symptoms); therefore lower VAS scores represent a better disease state. Week 12 = end of Double-Blind period.	Baseline, Week 12
Mean Change in Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for the physician's (PhGA) and patient's (PGA) global assessment of disease activity and the patient's assessment of pain. PhGA assessed the patient's current status, PGA assessed status within the last 24 h, and patient's assessment of pain assessed pain status during the last week. All 3 assessments were scored on a 100 mm horizontal scale. The scores range from 0 (no symptoms) to 100 (maximum symptoms); therefore lower VAS scores represent a better disease state.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in Patient's Assessment of Pain (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for the physician's (PhGA) and patient's (PGA) global assessment of disease activity and the patient's assessment of pain. PhGA assessed the patient's current status, PGA assessed status within the last 24 h, and patient's assessment of pain assessed pain status during the last week. All 3 assessments were scored on a 100 mm horizontal scale. The scores range from 0 (no symptoms) to 100 (maximum symptoms); therefore lower VAS scores represent a better disease state.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in Patient's Global Assessment of Disease Activity (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for the physician's (PhGA) and patient's (PGA) global assessment of disease activity and the patient's assessment of pain. PhGA assessed the patient's current status, PGA assessed status within the last 24 h, and patient's assessment of pain assessed pain status during the last week. All 3 assessments were scored on a 100 mm horizontal scale. The scores range from 0 (no symptoms) to 100 (maximum symptoms); therefore lower VAS scores represent a better disease state.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in the Disability Index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) Scores From Baseline to Week 12 of the Double-Blind Period	HAQ is a self-reported, subject-oriented outcome measure. The Standard Disability Index of HAQ for a subject is calculated as the mean of the following 8 category scores (range: 0-3): dressing and grooming, rising, eating, walking, hygiene, reach, grip, and activities. The score of each category is calculated as the maximum of the scores for the questions of that category. The Disability Index cannot be computed if the patient does not have scores for at least 6 categories. A decrease in the Disability Index = improvement in disease (0 = no difficulties). Week 12 = end of Double-Blind period.	Baseline, Week 12
Mean Change in the Disability Index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	HAQ is a self-reported, subject-oriented outcome measure. The Standard Disability Index of HAQ for a subject is calculated as the mean of the following 8 category scores (range: 0-3): dressing and grooming, rising, eating, walking, hygiene, reach, grip, and activities. The score of each category is calculated as the maximum of the scores for the questions of that category. The Disability Index cannot be computed if the patient does not have scores for at least 6 categories. A decrease in the Disability Index indicates an improvement in disease (0 = no difficulties).	Baseline, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in the SF-36 Health Survey Index Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) at Week 12 of the Double-Blind Period	SF-36 (v.2) is a standardized health survey consisting of 36 questions to measure functional health status. The SF-36 score has two components: physical (PCS) and mental (MCS). Summary scores are calculated using the following 8 scales: physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, and mental health. The score for a component is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0 (not functioning) to 100 (highest functioning). An increase in SF-36 PCS or MCS indicates improved health status.	Baseline, Week 12
Mean Change in the SF-36 Health Survey Index Physical Component Summary (PCS) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	SF-36 (v.2) is a standardized health survey consisting of 36 questions to measure functional health status. The SF-36 score has two components: physical (PCS) and mental (MCS). Summary scores are calculated using the following 8 scales: physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, and mental health. The score for a component is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0 (not functioning) to 100 (highest functioning). An increase in SF-36 PCS or MCS indicates improved health status.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92
Mean Change in the SF-36 Health Survey Index Mental Component Summary (MCS) Through Week 92 of the Open-Label Period	SF-36 (v.2) is a standardized health survey consisting of 36 questions to measure functional health status. The SF-36 score has two components: physical (PCS) and mental (MCS). Summary scores are calculated using the following 8 scales: physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, and mental health. The score for a component is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0 (not functioning) to 100 (highest functioning). An increase in SF-36 PCS or MCS indicates improved health status.	Baseline, Week 0, Week 12, Week 24, Week 36, Week 48, Week 60, Week 72, Week 84, Week 92

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Abbott
• Investigators: Study Director: Laura Redden, MD, PhD, Abbott

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Burmester GR, Landewe R, Genovese MC, Friedman AW, Pfeifer ND, Varothai NA, Lacerda AP. Adalimumab long-term safety: infections, vaccination response and pregnancy outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Feb;76(2):414-417. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209322. Epub 2016 Jun 23.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: August 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 1, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 1, 2007
• First Posted (Estimate): October 3, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): April 11, 2011
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 7, 2011
• Last Verified: April 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Humira, methotrexate
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Immune System Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antirheumatic Agents; Adalimumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: M04-705