Amgen announced that the novel phosphodiesterase 4–inhibitor apremilast may be effective at improving inflammation and cardiometabolic parameters and preventing structural progression in patients with psoriatic arthritis, according to two new studies presented at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2023 Congress. The new findings were simultaneously published by Østergaard et al and Mease et al in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
In the first study—the phase IV MOSAIC trial—researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at baseline and after 24 and 48 weeks of follow-up to analyze inflammation in the peripheral joints and entheses of 98 patients with psoriatic arthritis who received apremilast. The researchers then assessed several markers of the disease—including bone erosion; hand bone marrow edema; as well as synovitis, tenosynovitis, and periarticular inflammation in the fingers—and utilized the psoriatic arthritis MRI score from baseline through week 48 of the study. They discovered that following treatment with apremilast, patients’ overall inflammation decreased, and no structural progression was observed. Further, patients with moderate disease activity may have benefited the most from the medication.
In the second study, investigators examined the effects of apremilast on the cardiometabolic parameters of 78 patients with psoriatic arthritis. After 52 weeks of follow-up, the investigators found that patients who received the agent experienced declines in their mean body mass index, low-density lipoprotein levels, and hemoglobin A1c levels.