A recent phase-three monotherapy study dubbed SARIL-RA-MONARCH, which was conducted by researchers from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., showed that sarilumab was more effective than adalimubab as a treatment for patients living with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Adalimumab is marketed by pharmaceutical company AbbVie as Humira. Sarilumab is an investigational, human IL-6 receptor antibody.
"In this study, sarilumab monotherapy provided stronger efficacy than adalimumab monotherapy. Adalimumab is one of the most commonly used biologic medicines in RA," Janet van Adelsberg, senior director of clinical sciences, immunology and inflammation at Regeneron, said. "This is the first time an IL-6 receptor blocker delivered subcutaneously has demonstrated superiority over adalimumab monotherapy in RA."
SARIL-RA-MONARCH used as subjects 369 adult patients with active RA who either had not responded to or been able to tolerate other RA treatments. Subjects were either given a 200-milligram subcutaneous dose of sarilumab or a 40-milligram dose of adalimumab monotherapy every two weeks.
"Despite the availability of a wide range of treatment options, we believe that new therapies are needed to further address unmet needs of RA patients," Simon Cooper, global project head for immunology and inflammation at Sanofi, said. "These data suggest that sarilumab, if approved, may be an option for patients unable to tolerate or take methotrexate, and we look forward to sharing further details at an upcoming medical congress."
