Enbrel and MTX therapy shows promise in RA trial

USA-based drug major Wyeth says that data from trials of Enbrel (etanercept), used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis as an addition to standard methotrexate therapy, showed that the drug conferred a therapeutic advantage, when compared with MTX alone. The results, which were presented at the recent European League Against Rheumatism conference held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, are from an open-label extension to the Trial of Etanercept and Methotrexate with Radiographic Patient Outcomes (TEMPO) study.

The extension trial enrolled 227 patients from the original study who had completed three years of therapy, all of whom were switched to the combined Enbrel and MTX regimen. The results showed that 50% of patients taking the combination treatment for a period of four years achieved a disease activity score (DAS) of less than 1.6, equivalent to clinical remission, compared with 38.7% of patients who had reached such a level after three years of treatment. A further 74% of subjects had a DAS of less than 2.4, or low level disease activity, after the extension study, versus the 66.7% who demonstrated response after the initial trial.