B-MS discusses two-year Orencia trial data

In a presentation to the European League Against Rheumatism annual conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb reviwed the ongoing development of its rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia (abatacept). The data discussed are from the Phase III AIM (Abatacept in Inadequate responders to Methotrexate) extension study, which assessed the drug in combination with methotrexate versus methotrexate alone, for a period of two years.

The results showed that 82% of patients who received the combined regimen achieved ACR 20 responses (20% improvement in their condition) in year one, with 80% reaching this level of improvement after two years of treatment. In addition: ACR 50 responses were shown by 54% and 50% of patients at year one and two, respectively; and ACR 70 improvement was seen in 32% of subjects after year one, climbing to 34% after year two.

The firm also reported that, at year one, 25.4% of patients on the combined regimen achieved DAS28 (disease activity score) levels of 2.6, compared with 2.5% of those in the placebo plus methotrexate cohort. At year two, this rose to 30.9% of patients who had received continual treatment. In addition, 32.6% of those who switched to combined Orencia plus methotrexate treatment after being in the placebo group, achieved DAS28 of below 2.6 in the extension study.