Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Original and Biosimilar Adalimumab in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Real-World National Cohort

Efficacy, Safety, and Immunogenicity of SDZ-ADL, an Adalimumab Biosimilar, in Biologic-Naïve and Switched Patients with Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: A Literature Review

Sandoz-adalimumab (SDZ-ADL; Hyrimoz®, GP2017) is an adalimumab (ADL) biosimilar approved for the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Here, we review the available literature on SDZ-ADL from controlled and real-world evidence studies. A literature search was carried out to identify articles published up to July 2023 reporting data on efficacy, safety, immunogenicity, and treatment retention rates for SDZ-ADL. In randomized clinical trials, the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of SDZ-ADL were comparable to those observed for reference-adalimumab (ref-ADL) and not altered after single or multiple drug switches. Real-world studies confirmed the effectiveness and safety of treatment initiation with SDZ-ADL and of switching to SDZ-ADL from ref-ADL or from other ADL biosimilars. This literature review provides evidence that SDZ-ADL is as effective and safe as ref-ADL in both biologic-naïve and biologic-experienced patients.

Forty-Eight-Month Monitoring of Disease Activity in Patients with Long-Standing Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with TNF-α Inhibitors: Time for Clinical Outcome Prediction and Biosimilar vs Biologic Originator Performance

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Long-term treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis with tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors leads to initial changes in disease activity that can predict a late treatment response. This observational and retrospective study aimed to determine when it is possible to foresee the response to therapy in the case of long-standing rheumatoid arthritis comparing also the efficacy of the original biologics with their biosimilars.

METHODS

A total of 1598 patients were recruited and treated with the original biologics, adalimumab and etanercept, or with biosimilars. Patients were monitored over a period of 48 months and disease activity scores (28-Joint Disease Activity Score, Simplified Disease Activity Index, and Clinical Disease Activity Index) were measured every 6 months.

RESULTS

No differences in disease activity levels were observed in etanercept versus biosimilars (GP2015/SB4) and adalimumab versus biosimilar (GP2017) patient groups. All scores significantly decreased in all treatments during the first 18 months of therapy, and after 24 months reached a minimum that lasted up to 48 months.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that biosimilars of adalimumab and etanercept have equivalent effectiveness over a long period of time compared to their originator drugs, and also that the levels of disease activity after 6 months of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (originator drugs and biosimilars) might predict the response to therapy at 4 years in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis.

Drug survival and safety of biosimilars and originator adalimumab in the treatment of psoriasis: a multinational cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Adalimumab is an effective but previously expensive biological treatment for psoriasis. The introduction of biosimilars following the patent expiry of the originator adalimumab Humira has reduced the unit cost of treatment. However, the long-term effectiveness and safety of adalimumab biosimilars for treating psoriasis in real-world settings are uncertain and may be a barrier to widespread usage.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This study aims to compare the drug survival and safety of adalimumab biosimilars to adalimumab originator for the treatment of psoriasis. We will use both routinely collected healthcare databases and dedicated pharmacovigilance registries from the PsoNet initiative, including data from the UK, France and Spain. We will conduct a cohort study using a prevalent new user design. We will match patients on previous adalimumab exposure time to create two equal-sized cohorts of biosimilar and originator users. The coprimary outcomes are drug survival, defined by the time from cohort entry to discontinuation of the drug of interest; and risk of serious adverse events, defined by adverse events leading to hospitalisation or death. Cox proportional hazards models will be fitted to calculate HRs as the effect estimate for the outcomes.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The participating registries agree with the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval from local ethics committees. The results of the study will be published in scientific journals and presented at international dermatology conferences by the end of 2023.