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Abstract
Background: In the phase 3 TULIP-2 and TULIP-1 trials in SLE, treatment with the type I interferon receptor antibody anifrolumab resulted in higher percentages of patients with BICLA responses vs placebo at Week 52, with differences of 16.3% (primary endpoint; P=0.001, 95% CI 6.3–26.3) and 16.4% (secondary endpoint; 95% CI 6.7–26.2), respectively.1,2
Objectives: To better understand the time course of BICLA responses to anifrolumab, we examined responses over time compared with placebo in TULIP-2 and TULIP-1, including those that were sustained from attainment through Week 52.
Methods: The TULIP-2 and TULIP-1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials evaluated the efficacy and safety of anifrolumab (300 mg Q4W) over 52 weeks in patients with moderately to severely active SLE who were receiving standard-of-care treatment. Time to onset of BICLA response that was sustained from attainment through Week 52 was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model. For TULIP-1, BICLA response rate and time to onset of BICLA response were analyzed using the amended restricted medication rules.2
Results: Overall, 180 patients each in TULIP-2 and TULIP-1 received anifrolumab compared with 182 and 184 patients in the placebo arms, respectively. At the first 3 assessments in TULIP-2 (Weeks 4, 8, and 12), numerically greater percentages of patients treated with anifrolumab (26.8%, 35.3%, and 42.9%, respectively) were classified as having a BICLA response compared with placebo (21.3%, 21.6%, and 31.8%). A similar trend was observed in TULIP-1 with anifrolumab (23.3%, 34.2%, and 36.5%) vs placebo (18.3%, 23.2%, and 27.5%). The time to onset of BICLA response sustained from onset through Week 52 favored anifrolumab in both TULIP-2 (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.11–2.18) and TULIP-1 (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.38–2.73) (Figure). In TULIP-2, 86 (47.8%) patients treated with anifrolumab had BICLA responses that were sustained from time of onset through Week 52 compared with 57 (31.3%) patients in the placebo group. In TULIP-1, 85 (47.2%) patients in the anifrolumab treatment arm had BICLA responses that were sustained from time of onset through Week 52 compared with 55 (29.9%) patients in the placebo group.
Conclusion: In 2 Phase 3 studies, a greater proportion of patients achieved BICLA responses sustained from onset through Week 52 with anifrolumab treatment compared with placebo. Anifrolumab resulted in numerically favorable differences in time to onset of BICLA responses maintained through Week 52 across the TULIP studies. These data support the sustainability of clinical benefit derived from anifrolumab treatment of patients with active SLE.
References: [1]Morand EF, et al. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:211–221.
[2]Furie RA, et al. Lancet Rheumatol. 2019;1:e208–e219.
Disclosure of Interests: Eric F. Morand Grant/research support from: AstraZeneca, Consultant of: AstraZeneca, Speakers bureau: AstraZeneca, Richard Furie Grant/research support from: AstraZeneca, Biogen, Consultant of: AstraZeneca, Biogen, Ian N. Bruce Grant/research support from: Genzyme Sanofi, GSK, and UCB, Consultant of: Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, UCB, Iltoo, and Merck Serono, Speakers bureau: UCB, Kenneth Kalunian Grant/research support from: Pfizer, UCB, Resolve, Takeda, Idorsia, BMS, and Kirin, Consultant of: AstraZeneca, Nektar, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Janssen, GSK, AbbVie, Chemocentryx, Genentech-Roche, Biogen, and Equillium, Rubana Kalyani Employee of: AstraZeneca, Gabriel Abreu Employee of: AstraZeneca, Lilia Pineda Employee of: AstraZeneca, Raj Tummala Employee of: AstraZeneca
