Application of N-of-1 Rheumatoid Arthritis

Study Purpose

The goal of this N-of-1 study is to learn about treatment for individual patients who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA,) for which many treatments are available. The treatments are different in how they work, the way they are given, side- effects, and cost. While treatment guidelines are available, finding the best treatment order of treatments is often based on physician choice. The main question this study aims to answer are:

  • - What are the effects of different treatments on RA symptoms and condition for each individual patient.
  • - What is the effectiveness of different treatments across all patients enrolled in the N-of-1 study.
Participants will be enrolled and randomized to a sequence of three U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RA medications: 1. adalimumab, 2. sarilumab, and 3. upadacitinib. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their condition and quality of life weekly (either in clinic or remotely) and report their level of pain daily (remotely).

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Observational
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - • Newly diagnosed adult-onset Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) as defined by the American College of Rheumatology/ European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) 2021 Criteria for the Classification of RA.
  • - Moderately to severely active RA defined as the presence of at least 6/68 tender joints and at least 6/66 swollen joints.
  • - C-reactive protein (CRP) or high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) measurement ≥ 1 time the upper limit of normal.
  • - First-line therapy with MTX for at least the 12 weeks prior to study entry with a continuous, non-changing dose for at least 8 weeks prior to study entry but continue to exhibit active RA.
  • - Had to discontinue MTX due to intolerability or toxicity, irrespective of treatment duration.
  • - Have never received adalimumab, sarilumab, upadacitinib prior to first dose of study drug.
  • - Provision of informed consent.
  • - Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
  • - 18 years of age or older.
  • - Ability to take oral medication and be willing to adhere to the three treatment periods.
  • - Patients are eligible whether their disease responded adequately or inadequately to first-line MTX or if they were intolerant to first-line MTX.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - • History of any arthritis with onset prior to age 17 years or current diagnosis of inflammatory joint disease other than RA.
  • - Has received intra-articular, intravenous, intramuscular corticosteroids within 28 days prior to baseline.
  • - Known allergic reactions to components of any of the three biologic agents.
  • - Is currently receiving corticosteroids at doses > (greater than) 10 mg per day of prednisone (or equivalent) or have been receiving an unstable dosing regimen of corticosteroids within 2 weeks of study entry or within 6 weeks of planned randomization.
  • - Has experienced any of the following within 12 weeks of study entry: myocardial infarction, unstable ischemic heart disease, stroke, or have New York Heart Association stage IV heart failure.
  • - Tuberculosis infection.
  • - Hepatitis B or C infection.
  • - History of venous thromboembolic event (deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism) - Has a history or presence of cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatic, gastrointestinal, endocrine, hematological, neurological, or neuropsychiatric disorders or any other serious and/or unstable illness that, in the opinion of the investigator, could constitute a risk or could interfere with the interpretation of data.
  • - Has an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on the most recent available serum creatinine of < (less than) 40 milliliter per minute per 1.73 m^2 (mL/min/1.73 m^2) - Has a history of chronic liver disease with the most recent available aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >1.5 times the ULN or the most recent available total bilirubin ≥1.5 times the ULN.
  • - Has a history of, lymphoproliferative disease; or have signs or symptoms suggestive of possible lymphoproliferative disease, including lymphadenopathy or splenomegaly; or have active primary or recurrent malignant disease; or have been in remission from clinically significant malignancy for <5 years.
  • - Has been exposed to a live vaccine within 12 weeks prior to planned randomization or are expected to need/receive a live vaccine during the course of the study (with the exception of herpes zoster vaccination) - Has a current or recent clinically serious viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infection.
  • - Has had symptomatic herpes zoster infection within 12 weeks prior to study entry.
  • - Is immunocompromised and, in the opinion of the investigator, are at an unacceptable risk for participating in the study.
  • - Has a history of active hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - Has evidence of active or latent tuberculosis (TB) - Current hospitalization or requiring hospital admission at screening.
  • - Pregnant or breastfeeding.
  • - Participation in another therapeutic clinical trial for RA.
  • - Lack of internet access to telehealth platform.
- Non-English speaking participants

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT06016517
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

Tufts Medical Center
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

N/A
Principal Investigator Affiliation N/A
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Not yet recruiting
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Additional Details

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, slowly progressive condition for which numerous treatment options are available. The therapies vary in mechanism of action, mode of administration, side- effect (adverse event) profile, and cost. While consensus treatment guidelines are available, identifying an optimal treatment sequence is often based on clinician choice with treatment changes based on tolerability and short- term outcome. The N-of-1 trial will evaluate individual participant and aggregate data. Individual participants will be enrolled and randomized to a sequence of three U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapeutic agents

  • - adalimumab, sarilumab, upadacitinib- plus matching placebos to enable blinding of patients, clinicians, and study personnel.
The N-of-1- RA protocol describes patient allocation into a series of individual randomized comparisons. These treatment conditions are double-blind and randomized, with inclusion of matching parallel placebo treatments identical in appearance to the active medications: • Patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis following initial treatment with methotrexate (MTX). Prior to randomization, participants will be allocated to:
  • - MTX responder.
  • - MTX non- responder.
Eligible participants will either continue MTX or discontinue MTX, based on response to initial therapy and tolerance. Participants identified for subsequent biologic therapy will enter the blinded biologic therapy phase of the study; with MTX either continued or not continued. This phase consists of a sequence of 3 therapeutic intervention regimens, each lasting 12-weeks. Each treatment period includes matching parallel placebo treatments identical to the active medications in appearance to ensure blinding of patients, clinicians, and study personnel. The treatment conditions are as follows: A. Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Inhibitor biologic: Adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every 2 weeks via subcutaneous injection with oral placebo once daily. B. Non-TNF-Inhibitor biologic: Sarilumab 200 mg via subcutaneous injection every 2 weeks with oral placebo once daily. C. Janus Kinase (JAK) Inhibitor: Upadacitinib 15 mg orally once daily with subcutaneous placebo injection every 2 weeks. Primary Objective (individual N-of-1 trial): To generate randomized evidence about the effects of therapeutic agents on RA symptoms and disease activity to inform decision about best treatment at the end of the trial period for each participant. Secondary Objective (aggregation of the series of N-of-1 trials): To evaluate the average relative effectiveness of therapeutic agents across all participants and explore heterogeneity of treatment effects. For the aggregated series of N-of-1 trial, we will use the following hierarchy of endpoints.
  • - Primary Endpoint: - DAS28 (CRP) - Secondary Endpoints including: - American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20), 50% (ACR50) and 70% (ACR70) response.
- Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data (RAPID3) score based on participants' report of overall assessment of the disease, the level of pain, and the amount of physical disability

Contact a Trial Team

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Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts

Status

Address

Tufts Medical Center

Boston, Massachusetts, 02111