Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Study of VAY736 in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

A Dose Escalation Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of VAY736 in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

This study investigated the safety and tolerability of VAY736 administered as single ascending doses of intravenous infusion, subcutaneous injection and repeated subcutaneous injections in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

This study had three sequential parts which investigated the safety and tolerability of VAY736 administered as single ascending doses of intravenous infusion (Part 1), single ascending doses of subcutaneous injection (Part 2), and repeated subcutaneous injections of fixed doses (Part 3), respectively, in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Part 1 was double blind, placebo controlled, with 11 cohorts. Part 2 was open-label study with 2 dosing cohorts. Part 3 was open-label study with 1 fixed-dose cohort.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Active disease despite methotrexate treatment 5 to 20 mg/week for Parts 1 and 2; methotrexate treatment 5 to 20 mg/week for Part 3
• Fulfilled 2010 American College of Rheumatolody (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis for Part 1 and Part 2. For Part 3, fulfilled 2010 American College of Rheumatolody (ACR)/)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria or/and 1987 American College of Rheumatolody (ACR) classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis;
• Methotrexate ≥ 16 weeks, stable dose ≥ 8 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous treatment with a B cell-depleting biologic agent.
• Autoimmune disease other than RA except concurrent Sjogren's syndrome
• Adult juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• ARA functional class IV disease of ACR Revised Steinbrocker Classification