Association of achieving clinical disease control criteria and patient-reported outcomes in bimekizumab-treated patients with active psoriatic arthritis: results from two phase III studies

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes pain and fatigue, reduces physical function, and negatively impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL). In the phase III BE OPTIMAL and BE COMPLETE studies, bimekizumab demonstrated clinical efficacy and meaningful improvements in patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures in biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD)-na & iuml;ve patients, and those who had prior inadequate response/intolerance to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR).Objectives: To examine the association between achieving increasingly stringent clinical disease control criteria and improvements in PRO measures in patients with active PsA receiving bimekizumab.Design: Post hoc analysis of two phase III studies.Methods: BE OPTIMAL and BE COMPLETE assessed subcutaneous bimekizumab 160 mg every 4 weeks in bDMARD-na & iuml;ve and TNFi-IR patients with active PsA. Disease control was assessed using American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response criteria, Minimal Disease Activity, Disease Activity Index for Psoriatic Arthritis, and the composite outcome of ACR50 and 100% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. Associations between clinical disease control criteria and PRO measures of pain, fatigue, physical function, and HRQoL were assessed at week 16 and week 52/40 (BE OPTIMAL/BE COMPLETE).Results: Achievement of increasingly stringent clinical disease control criteria was generally associated with sequentially greater improvements in all PRO measures, including pain. At week 52/40, 94.7% of bDMARD-na & iuml;ve and 97.6% of TNFi-IR patients achieving ACR70 reported >= 50% improvements in pain from baseline, and the greatest numerical improvements (-48.5 bDMARD-na & iuml;ve; -54.7 TNFi-IR). This pattern was evident as early as week 16 and sustained when assessed at week 52/40 across the majority of clinical disease control criteria and PRO measures reported.Conclusion: The achievement of increasingly stringent thresholds of disease control was associated with corresponding greater improvements in PROs, for patients receiving bimekizumab treatment, irrespective of prior TNFi use.Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03895203, NCT03896581, and NCT04009499.