Phase 3 Rheumatoid Arthritis drug trials mean more widespread testing of Tasocitinib aka CP-690550

Last night, I learned some exciting news about a new kind of Rheumatoid Arthritis drug in development called Tasocitinib. Tasocitinib is administered in a pill form. However, it is being compared to Biologics which are administered intravenously or injected.

Tasocitinib, also known as CP-690550, is a JAK (Janus kinase) inhibitor with immunosuppressive properties. It has also been used to prevent transplant rejection. It promises to “overcome” some limitations of Biologics “by selectively targeting JAK, which is expressed generally only in immune cells,” Pub Med.

The exciting news is that Tasocitinib is now in Phase 3 clinical trials. That means more widespread testing across the US and 35 countries altogether. Pfizer has set up an RA website just for the ORAL clinical trials for this new RA drug.

Rheumatoid Arthritis drugs in development go through four phases. The Phase 2 ORAL trials showed promising results against methotrexate and Humira (adalimumab).   There are more details about phase 2 in this Medical News Today article.

Arms in the CP-690550 Rheumatoid Arthritis drug trials

There are two different RA drug trials. That means that, for Phase 3, there are two groups of people being studied in different ways. Which study a potential patient would qualify to enter depends on treatment history.

ORAL trial 1032 is for patients who had an inadequate response to TNF inhibitors (that’s Biologics like Enbrel or Humira). Tasocitinib will be tested with methotrexate as a “background” drug. ORAL trial 1069 compares the effectiveness of Tasocitinib to methotrexate in preventing joint damage and improving Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms.

If you might consider participating in one of the Tasocitinib / CP-690-550 ORAL trials, there is a map on their website of cities which have participating locations. There is also a toll free number and a page which discusses issues related to clinical trials. If you call, please mention that you read about it here. I had a very nice conversation with a representative I interviewed last night.

3/09/11 UPDATE: Tofacitinib / CP-690550 aka Tasocitinib Succeeds in Pfizer’s 2nd Phase 3 Trial

Recommended reading:

• What Is it Like to Have Rheumatoid Arthritis? Part 2: Why Don’t They Tell You?
• How well do Biologic medications help Rheumatoid Arthritis?
• Rheumatoid Arthritis News: Actemra Approved
• The Problem with Rheumatoid Arthritis Information: Why is RA so hard to study and cure?
• Ultrasound for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Part 1

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 9:05 am and is filed under RA Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.