Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of Secukinumab in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Taking Methotrexate

A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study of Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of Secukinumab at 12 Weeks Administered With an Intravenous (i.v.) or Subcutaneous (s.c.) Loading Regimen Compared to Placebo in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis Despite Treatment With Methotrexate

The study compared the efficacy and assessed the safety of secukinumab given as 3 intravenous (i.v.) loading doses or weekly sub-cutaneous (s.c.) loading doses, compared to placebo, followed by monthly s.c. injections in patients with active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) despite treatment with Methotrexate.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: secukinumab (AIN457); Drug: placebo

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 221
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Bulgaria
  • Pleven, Bulgaria, 5800
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 4002
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 4000
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Sevlievo, Bulgaria, 5400
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Sofia, Bulgaria, 1606
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Sofia, Bulgaria, 1505
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Sofia, Bulgaria, 1612
    • Novartis Investigative Site
• Canada
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
    • St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, A1C 5B8
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Quebec
    • Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada, G1W 4R4
      • Novartis Investigative Site
• Hungary
  • Budapest, Hungary, 1023
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Debrecen, Hungary, 4032
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Szeged, Hungary, H-6725
    • Novartis Investigative Site
• Italy
  • (vr)
    • Valeggio Sul Mincio, (vr), Italy, 37067
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • GE
    • Arenzano, GE, Italy, 16011
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Genova, GE, Italy, 16132
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • RM
    • Roma, RM, Italy, 00152
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • SI
    • Siena, SI, Italy, 53100
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • TO
    • Torino, TO, Italy, 10128
      • Novartis Investigative Site
• Poland
  • Bialystok, Poland, 15-351
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Poznan, Poland, 60-218
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Warszawa, Poland, 04-141
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Warszawa, Poland, 02-341
    • Novartis Investigative Site
• Puerto Rico
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00909
    • Novartis Investigative Site
• Slovakia
  • Lucenec, Slovakia, 98401
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Partizánske, Slovakia, 95801
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Piestany, Slovakia, 92112
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Sabinov, Slovakia, 08301
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Stara Lubovna, Slovakia, 06401
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Topolcany, Slovakia, 95501
    • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Slovak Republic
    • Bardejov, Slovak Republic, Slovakia, 085 01
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Slovensko
    • Trnava, Slovensko, Slovakia, 91701
      • Novartis Investigative Site
• United States
  • Alabama
    • Vestavia, Alabama, United States, 35216
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Arizona
    • Peoria, Arizona, United States, 85381
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • California
    • Upland, California, United States, 91786
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Kentucky
    • Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States, 42101
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Mississippi
    • Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, 38801
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Nebraska
    • Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, 68516
      • Novartis Investigative Site
  • Tennessee
    • Jackson, Tennessee, United States, 38305
      • Novartis Investigative Site
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37205
      • Novartis Investigative Site

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:

• presence of RA classified by ACR 2010 revised criteria for at least 3 months before screening
• must have been taking MTX for at least 3 months before randomization and must currently be on a stable dose of MTX for at least 4 weeks before randomization.
• At Baseline: Disease activity criteria defined by >6 tender joints out of 68 and >6 swollen joints out of 66 and with at least 1 of the following at screening: Anti-CCP antibodies positive OR Rheumatoid Factor positive and with at least 1 of the following at screening: hsCRP ≥ 10 mg/L OR ESR ≥ 28

Exclusion criteria:

• RA patients functional status class IV according to the ACR 1991 revised criteria
• Previous exposure to secukinumab or any other biologic drug directly targeting IL-17 or IL-17 receptor
• Previous exposure ever to an anti-TNF-a agent or any other immunomodulatory biologic agent (experimental or approved)
• Patients taking high potency opioid analgesics (e.g., methadone, hydromorphone, or morphine)
• Any therapy by intra-articular injections (e.g. corticosteroid, hyaluronan) required for treatment of arthritis within 4 weeks before randomization
• Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: secukinumab 10 mg/kg i.v. loading; secukinumab 10mg/kg i.v. loading at Weeks 0, 2 and 4, and placebo s.c. at weeks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, followed by secukinumab 150mg s.c. every 4 weeks starting at Week 8	Biological: secukinumab (AIN457); Secukinumab is a human monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that recognize and bind to unique proteins that your body produces. Secukinumab binds and reduces the activity of a cytokine (a "messenger" protein in the body) called Interleukin 17 (IL-17).; Drug: placebo; Matching placebo to AIN457 i.v. and to AIN457 s.c..
Experimental: secukinumab 150 mg s.c. loading; secukinumab 150mg s.c. loading at Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, and placebo i.v. at weeks 0, 2 and 4, followed by secukinumab 150mg s.c. every 4 weeks starting at Week 8	Biological: secukinumab (AIN457); Secukinumab is a human monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that recognize and bind to unique proteins that your body produces. Secukinumab binds and reduces the activity of a cytokine (a "messenger" protein in the body) called Interleukin 17 (IL-17).; Drug: placebo; Matching placebo to AIN457 i.v. and to AIN457 s.c..
Placebo Comparator: placebo; placebo at Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 & 12, followed by secukinumab 150mg s.c. every 4 weeks starting at Week 16	Biological: secukinumab (AIN457); Secukinumab is a human monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that recognize and bind to unique proteins that your body produces. Secukinumab binds and reduces the activity of a cytokine (a "messenger" protein in the body) called Interleukin 17 (IL-17).; Drug: placebo; Matching placebo to AIN457 i.v. and to AIN457 s.c..

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants Who Achieve American College of Rheumatology Response of 20 (ACR20)	A participant was considered to be a responder according to the ACR20 criteria if the participant had at least 20% improvement in both the tender joint count and swollen joint count measures, and in at least 3 of the following 5 measures: patient's assessment of pain, patient's global assessment of disease activity, physician's global assessment of disease activity, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ©) score, and/or C-reactive protein (CRP)/Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR).	12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants Who Achieve ACR50 and ACR70	A participant was considered to be a responder according to the ACR50 or ACR70 criteria if the participant had at least 50% or 70% improvement, respectively, in both the tender joint count and swollen joint count measures, and in at least 3 of the following 5 measures: patient's assessment of pain, patient's global assessment of disease activity, physician's global assessment of disease activity, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ©) score, and/or C-reactive protein (CRP)/Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR).	12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disease Index (HAQ-DI) Score.	The HAQ measures physical disability and functional status. It has 4 dimensions: disability, pain, drug side effects and dollar costs. In this trial, only the disability dimension was used. The disability dimension consists of 20 multiple choice items concerning difficulty in performing 8 common activities of daily living; dressing and grooming, arising, eating, walking, reaching, personal hygiene, gripping and activities. Participants choose from four response categories: 0 (without any difficulty), 1 (with some difficulty), 2 (with much difficulty) and 3 (unable to do). Within each of the 8 categories, only the item indicating the most severe impairment contributes to the category score. The HAQ score is calculated by summing the computed scores for each category and dividing by the number of categories answered. It ranges from 0 (without any difficulty) to 3 (unable to do). A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 Weeks
Change From Baseline in DAS28 Using High Sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP) (DAS28-CRP)	The Disease Activity Score (DAS) is a combined index to measure disease activity in RA participants. DAS28-CRP is determined using the following variables: 28-joint counts (tender28 and swollen28), CRP, and the participant's general health (GH) or global disease activity measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of 100 mm (0 = and 100 = ). Using the data from these variables, DAS28-CRP is calculated using the following formula: DAS28-4(crp) = 0.56*sqrt(TJC28) + 0.28*sqrt(SJC28) + 0.36*ln(CRP+1) + 0.014*GH + 0.96. The calculation results in a DAS28-CRP score from 0 to 10 indicating the current activity of the rheumatoid arthritis of your patient. A DAS28 above 5.1 means high disease activity whereas a DAS28 below 3.2 indicates low disease activity. Remission is achieved by a DAS28 lower than 2.6. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Disease Activity Score 28 Response Using ESR (DAS28-ESR)	The Disease Activity Score (DAS) is a combined index to measure disease activity in RA participants. DAS28 is determined using the following variables: 28-joint counts (tender28 and swollen28), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and the participant's general health (GH) or global disease activity measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of 100 mm (0 = and 100 = ). Using the data from these variables, DAS28-ESR is calculated using the following formula: DAS28 = 0.56 * sqrt(tender28) + 0.28 * sqrt(swollen28) + 0.70 * ln(ESR) + 0.014 * GH. The calculation results in a DAS28-ESR score from 0 to 10 indicating the current activity of the rheumatoid arthritis of your patient. A DAS28 above 5.1 means high disease activity whereas a DAS28 below 3.2 indicates low disease activity. Remission is achieved by a DAS28 lower than 2.6. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Percentage of Participants With European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Response	EULAR response criteria are based on DAS28 status in combination with DAS28 improvements. The EULAR response criteria are as follows: present DAS28 <3.2 with DAS28 improvement >1.2 corresponds to 'good response'; present DAS28 <3.2 with DAS28 improvement between 0.6 to 1.2, or present DAS28 between 3.2 to 5.1 with DAS28 improvement from 0.6 to >1.2, or present DAS28 >5.2 with DAS28 improvement >1.2 correspond to 'moderate response; present DAS28 <3.2 with DAS28 improvement <0.6, or present DAS28 between 3.2 to 5.1 with DAS28 improvement <0.6, or present DAS28 >5.1 with DAS28 improvement <0.6 to 1.2 correspond to 'no response'.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Swollen 66-joint Count	The 66 joints assessed for swelling included the 8 distal interphalangeal, 10 proximal interphalangeal and 10 metacarpophalangeal joints of the hands, the 10 metatarsophalangeal and 10 proximal interphalangeal joints of the feet, the 2 wrists, 2 elbows , 2 shoulders , 2 acromioclavicular, 2 sternoclavicular, 2 temporomandibular, 2 knee, 2 talo-tibial, and 2 mid-tarsal joints. Swelling was graded present (1) or absent (0). A negative change in baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Tender 68-joint Count	The 68 joints assessed for tenderness included the 8 distal interphalangeal, 10 proximal interphalangeal and 10 metacarpophalangeal joints of the hands, the 10 metatarsophalangeal and 10 proximal interphalangeal joints of the feet, the 2 wrists, 2 elbows , 2 shoulders , 2 acromioclavicular, 2 sternoclavicular, 2 temporomandibular, 2 hip, 2 knee, 2 talo-tibial, and 2 mid-tarsal joints. Joint tenderness was graded present (1) or absent (0). A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Participant's Assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Pain	The patient's assessment of pain was performed using 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (no pain) to 100 (unbearable pain) after the question "Please indicate with a vertical mark through the horizontal line the most pain you had from your rheumatoid arthritis over the last 24 hours". A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Participant's Global Assessment of Disease Activity	The patient's global assessment of disease activity was performed using 100 mm VAS ranging from 0 (very good) to 100 (very poor), after the question "Considering all the ways rheumatoid arthritis affects you, please indicate with a vertical mark through the horizontal line how well you are doing today". A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity	The physician's global assessment of disease activity was performed using 100 mm VAS ranging from 0 (very good) to 100 (very poor), after the question "Considering all the ways rheumatoid arthritis affects your patient, how would you rate his or her current condition?". A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in hsCRP	Blood for this assessment was obtained to identify the presence of inflammation, to determine its severity, and to monitor response to treatment. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks
Change From Baseline in ESR	Blood for this assessment was obtained to monitor disease activity and response to therapy. A negative change from baseline indicates improvement.	baseline, 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Novartis Pharmaceuticals

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Tlustochowicz W, Rahman P, Seriolo B, Krammer G, Porter B, Widmer A, Richards HB. Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous and Intravenous Loading Dose Regimens of Secukinumab in Patients with Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from a Randomized Phase II Study. J Rheumatol. 2016 Mar;43(3):495-503. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.150117. Epub 2016 Feb 1.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 19, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 23, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): May 25, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): March 2, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2015
• Last Verified: February 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Rheumatoid Arthritis; RA; AIN457; secukinumab; ACR; inflammatory joints; American College of Rheumatology
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Immune System Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid
• Other Study ID Numbers: CAIN457F2206; 2010-024516-34 (EudraCT Number)