Rheumatoid arthritis

Active Ingredient: Baricitinib

Indication for Baricitinib

Population group: only adults (18 years old or older)
Therapeutic intent: Curative procedure

Baricitinib is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients who have responded inadequately to, or who are intolerant to one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Baricitinib may be used as monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate.

For this indication, competent medicine agencies globally authorize below treatments:

2 mg or 4 mg once daily

For:

Dosage regimens

Regimen A: Oral, 2 milligrams baricitinib, once daily.

Regimen B: Oral, 4 milligrams baricitinib, once daily.

Detailed description

The recommended dose of baricitinib is 4 mg once daily. A dose of 2 mg once daily is recommended for patients at higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and malignancy, for patients aged ≥65 years and for patients with a history of chronic or recurrent infections. A dose of 4 mg once daily may be considered for patients who do not achieve adequate control of disease activity with 2 mg once daily dose. A dose of 2 mg once daily should be considered for patients who have achieved sustained control of disease activity with 4 mg once daily and are eligible for dose tapering.

Considering the increased risk of MACE, malignancies, serious infections, and all-cause mortality in patients 65 years of age and older, as observed in a large randomised study of tofacitinib (another JAK inhibitor), baricitinib should only be used in these patients if no suitable treatment alternatives are available.

Treatment initiation

Treatment should not be initiated in patients with an absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) less than 0.5 × 109 cells/L, an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) less than 1 × 109 cells/L, or who have a haemoglobin value less than 8 g/dL. Treatment may be initiated once values have improved above these limits.

Dose reduction

In patients taking strong Organic Anion Transporter 3 (OAT3) inhibitors such as probenecid, or with creatinine clearance between 30 and 60 mL/min the recommended dose is 2 mg.

Elderly

Clinical experience in patients aged ≥75 years is very limited.

Dosage considerations

Baricitinib is to be taken once daily with or without food and may be taken at any time of the day.

Active ingredient

Baricitinib

Baricitinib is a selective and reversible inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK)1 and JAK2. In isolated enzyme assays, baricitinib inhibited the activities of JAK1, JAK2, Tyrosine Kinase 2 and JAK3 with IC50 values of 5.9, 5.7, 53 and >400 nM, respectively. Janus kinases (JAKs) are enzymes that transduce intracellular signals from cell surface receptors for a number of cytokines and growth factors involved in haematopoiesis, inflammation and immune function.

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