Comparison of the effects of baricitinib and tocilizumab on disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a propensity score matching analysis

The influence of inflammation on patient global assessment (PGA) improvements differs between baricitinib and tocilizumab differs. Adequate PGA improvement remains one of the unmet needs in current RA treatment.Asai, et al. compared the effects of baricitinib and tocilizumab on disease activity in patients with RA while investigating the influence of inflammation on PGA improvement.Using data from a multicentre registry, 48 propensity-matched pairs of patients, who had been observed for longer than 24 weeks, were investigated. Results showed that baricitinib and tocilizumab had similar effects on inflammation in RA patients. However, baricitinib improved PGA more than tocilizumab, and had a significantly higher Boolean remission rate at 24 weeks.