Key clinical point: Long-term (3 years) bimekizumab treatment was associated with a sustained improvement in patient-reported outcomes like pain, fatigue, physical function, and quality of life in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Major finding: At week 48, there was a substantial improvement in mean arthritis pain (29.9 points), fatigue (2.4 points), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (0.43 points), and Physical Component Summary score (9.1 points), with improvements sustained till week 152. High proportions of patients achieved the Patient Acceptable Symptom State at weeks 48 (75.2%) and 152 (65.0%).
Study details: The findings are from a phase 2b ( BE ACTIVE ) trial including 206 patients with active PsA who were randomly assigned to receive bimekizumab or placebo for 48 weeks and its open-label extension (BE ACTIVE 2) including 184 patients who received 160 mg bimekizumab every 4 weeks from week 48 to week 152.
Disclosures: This study was supported by UCB Pharma. Four authors declared being employees and shareholders of UCB Pharma. The other authors reported ties with various sources, including UCB Pharma.
Source: Mease PJ et al. Effect of bimekizumab on symptoms and impact of disease in patients with psoriatic arthritis over 3 years: Results from BE ACTIVE. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 (Jul 5). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac353