Treatment Sequencing and Line of Therapy for Biologics and JAK Inhibitors in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications for Design and Uptake of New Drugs and Predictive Biomarker Diagnostics
Authors' conclusion
These findings highlight the size and characteristics of the eligible RA population in the United States initiating a new RA biologic or JAKi treatment each year, thus providing valuable insights for stakeholders developing or marketing new RA therapies or biomarker-based diagnostic tests to predict future treatment response.
Study context
- Population
- Inception cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), United States health plan claims59,557 new RA treatment initiations
- Participants
- 37,656 participants
- Exposure
- Advanced treatment-naïve vs treatment-experienced patients
- Outcome
- Rate of advanced treatment (biologic or JAKi) addition or switch
Methodological detailspopulation-based inception cohort, augmented health plan claims database
- Population-based inception cohort
- Augmented health plan claims database
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Biologic/JAKi addition/switch rate
Biologic-naïve
22.7
/100 py
Treatment-experienced
>30
/100 py
- Overall addition/switch rate per 100 py
- 25.7
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Agent initiated
- Initiated biologics (remainder JAKi)
- 85.2%
- Used biologics/JAKi as monotherapy
- 40.2%
Addition/switch rate by prescriber decile
- Highest-decile prescribers, per 100 py
- 53.8
- Lowest-decile prescribers, per 100 py
- 12.1
- Highest decile more than four-fold greater than lowest
Original publication
Treatment Sequencing and Line of Therapy for Biologics and JAK Inhibitors in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications for Design and Uptake of New Drugs and Predictive Biomarker Diagnostics. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published 2 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →