Comparative efficacy and safety of tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib in active rheumatoid arthritis refractory to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

The relative efficacy and tolerability of tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib were assessed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with inadequate responses to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs).

We performed a Bayesian network meta-analysis to combine direct and indirect evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib in RA patients with inadequate responses to bDMARDs.

Four RCTs comprising 1399 patients met the inclusion criteria. Tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib achieved significant American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20) responses versus placebo. The ranking probability based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) indicated that upadacitinib 15 mg had the highest probability of being the best treatment for achieving the ACR20 response rate, followed by filgotinib 200 mg, baricitinib 4 mg, filgotinib 100 mg, tofacitinib 5 mg, and placebo. The ranking in SUCRA based on the ACR50 response rate indicated that baricitinib 4 mg had the highest probability of achieving the ACR50 response rate, followed by filgotinib 200 mg, tofacitinib 5 mg, upadacitinib 15 mg, filgotinib 100 mg, and placebo. Tofacitinib 5 mg showed a significantly higher ACR70 response rate than filgotinib 100 mg and upadacitinib 15 mg. Tofacitinib 5 mg, filgotinib 200 mg, and placebo showed a significantly lower serious adverse event rate than upadacitinib 15 mg.

Tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, and filgotinib were effective treatment options for RA patients with an inadequate response to bDMARDs but with different efficacy and safety profiles.