An evaluation of tofacitinib for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory condition that is associated with progressive joint destruction and reduced quality of life. Despite the common use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in PsA, their influence has been investigated in a number of studies with conflicting results. There is also concern about their safety and tolerability. Tofacitinib is an orally administered Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that has recently been approved for the treatment of PsA by various international regulatory authorities, including the FDA, EMA, and NICE.

Areas covered: In this review, the mechanism of action and the pharmacokinetic properties of tofacitinib are discussed. The data from two large phase III clinical studies evaluating the use of tofacitinib in PsA is also discussed in addition to the findings from other relevant studies.

Expert opinion: The clinical data demonstrate significant improvement in disease activity in PsA patients using tofacitinib. There is also an acceptable clinical safety profile for the drug. Tofacitinib has various advantages over several existing drug treatments for PsA including an oral route of administration, a short half-life and a fast onset of action. Consequently, we anticipate that tofacitinib will become an increasingly used targeted synthetic DMARD (tsDMARD) for active PsA over the coming years.

KEYWORDS:

• Tofacitinib
• Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitor
• psoriatic arthritis
• review

Box 1. Drug Summary Box

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Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

One referee declares to having participated in advisory boards, have spoken at conferences for and/or received grants from AbbVie, Amen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Genzyme, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Montpellier SA, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz and UCB Pharma. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This manuscript was not funded.