Other clinical programs with filgotinib

In the course of 2017, Gilead initiated clinical trials with filgotinib in Sjögren’s disease, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, lupus membranous nephropathy, and uveitis. We initiated patient trials with filgotinib in PsA and AS, for which we reported topline results in 2018. In 2019, Gilead reported completion of recruitment for Sjögrens disease and cutaneous lupus erythematosus, and that they are no longer recruiting for lupus membranous nephropathy.

Psoriatic arthritis

PsA is an inflammatory form of arthritis, affecting up to 30% of psoriasis patients. There are approximately 1 million patients in the U.S. and European Union today, with men and women being affected equally. PsA can cause swelling, stiffness and pain in and around the joints and cause nail changes and overall fatigue. Studies show that delaying treatment for PsA as little as six months can result in permanent joint damage. Early recognition, diagnosis and treatment of PsA are critical to relieve pain and inflammation and help prevent joint damage. Despite the availability of a number of treatment options, few current treatments effectively relieve the enthesitis (inflammation of the tendons or ligaments) and symptoms in the joints and the skin.

The EQUATOR Phase 2 trial was a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of filgotinib in adult patients with moderately to severely active PsA. 131 patients were randomized in the trial in a 1:1 ratio to receive 200 mg filgotinib or placebo once-daily administered for 16 weeks. EQUATOR was recruited in eight European countries.

In May 2018, Gilead and we announced that the EQUATOR trial achieved its primary endpoint of improvement in the signs and symptoms of PsA at week 16, as assessed by ACR20 score. There was an ACR20 response of 80% for filgotinib versus 33% for placebo (p<0.001). The ACR50 and ACR70 responses at week 16 were also significantly higher for filgotinib versus placebo (ACR50: 48% for filgotinib versus 15%, p<0.001; ACR70: 23% versus 6%, p<0.01).

Filgotinib was generally well-tolerated in the EQUATOR trial, with no new safety signals observed and similar laboratory changes compared to those reported in previous trials with filgotinib in RA patients. The adverse event rate was similar in both groups with mostly mild or moderate events reported. There was one serious infection in the filgotinib group, a patient who experienced pneumonia with a fatal outcome. One other patient receiving filgotinib developed herpes zoster. There were no cases of opportunistic infection, tuberculosis, thromboembolism, or malignancy. The full results of EQUATOR were published in The Lancet and presented in a plenary session at ACR 2018 (Mease et al 2018).

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

AS, a systemic, chronic, and progressive inflammatory arthritis, is one of the most common rheumatic diseases across the globe, affecting approximately 2 million patients in the U.S., Europe, and Japan today. AS primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints and progresses into severe inflammation that fuses the spine, leading to permanent painful stiffness of the back. Currently, there is no known cure for AS, but there are treatments and medications available to reduce symptoms and manage pain. Recent studies show that the newer biologic medications can potentially slow disease progression in some patients; however, patients respond to different medications with varying levels of effectiveness. Thus, it takes time to find the most effective course of treatment.

TORTUGA was a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 trial to assess the safety and efficacy of filgotinib in adult patients with moderately to severely active AS. The trial was conducted in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Spain and Ukraine. In total, 116 patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive filgotinib 200 mg or placebo once daily for 12 weeks.

In September 2018, Gilead and we announced that the TORTUGA trial achieved its primary efficacy endpoint in adults with moderately to severely active AS. In the trial, patients treated with filgotinib achieved significantly greater improvements in AS Disease Activity Score, the primary endpoint, at week 12, with a mean change from baseline of -1.5 versus -0.6 for those treated with placebo (p<0.0001). More patients receiving filgotinib also achieved an Assessment in AS Response of at least 20% improvement compared to those treated with placebo (76% versus 40%, p<0.0001).

Adverse events were generally mild or moderate in severity and were reported in an equal proportion of patients in the filgotinib and placebo groups.  Laboratory changes were consistent with those previously reported for filgotinib, and no new safety signals were observed in the trial.  There was one treatment-emergent serious adverse event reported for a patient receiving filgotinib who experienced pneumonia and recovered after hospital-based antibiotic treatment. One patient randomized to filgotinib, with an inherited risk for thrombosis, experienced a non-serious deep venous thrombosis after completing the course of study drug.  No deaths, malignancies, hepatic events, opportunistic infections or cases of herpes zoster were observed in the study. The full results of the TORTUGA trial were reported in The Lancet  (Van der Heijde et al 2018).