Secukinumab infusion shows therapeutic potential in psoriatic arthritis

In the treatment of patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), intravenous secukinumab appears to yield rapid and sustained improvements in clinical measures, with a safety profile consistent with that of the subcutaneous formulation, according to the phase III INVIGORATE-2 study.

INVIGORATE-2 included 381 patients with active PsA who were randomly allocated to receive treatment with intravenous secukinumab (6 mg/kg at baseline followed by 3 mg/kg every 4 weeks; n=191) or placebo (n=190).

At week 16, patients who initially received placebo were switched to intravenous secukinumab (3 mg/kg every 4 weeks), whereas those who initially received intravenous secukinumab continued treatment through week 52.

Efficacy and safety were assessed through weeks 52 and 60, respectively. The primary efficacy endpoint was American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 50 response at week 16.

Of the patients, 177 (92.7 percent) in the secukinumab arm and 170 (89.5 percent) in the placebo arm completed the entire study period. The proportion of patients who achieved ACR50 at week 16 was significantly higher in the secukinumab arm than in the placebo arm (31.4 percent vs 6.3 percent; p<0.0001). Likewise, all secondary efficacy endpoints were met at week 16 (all adjusted P<.05 using the predefined hypothesis-testing hierarchy).

After switching to secukinumab at week 16, ACR50 response rates rapidly improved among patients who initially received placebo, such that both the secukinumab and placebo arms had similar improvements in efficacy outcomes by week 52.

There were no new or unexpected safety signals seen with intravenous secukinumab. One patient in the placebo group died prior to week 16.