OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of guselkumab, an interleukin-23p19 subunit inhibitor, in participants with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and inadequate response (inadequate efficacy and/or intolerance) to one prior tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor. METHODS:In SOLSTICE (phase 3b, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study), enrolled adults with active PsA (three or more swollen joints; three or more tender joints; C-reactive protein ≥ 0.3 mg/dL) and inadequate response to one prior TNF inhibitor were randomized to guselkumab 100 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W), guselkumab 100 mg at weeks 0 and 4 and then Q8W, or placebo with crossover to guselkumab Q4W at week 24. The primary endpoint was ≥20% improvement in American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR20) at week 24. Secondary endpoints included ACR50, ACR70, Investigator's Global Assessment of psoriasis (IGA) score of 0 or 1 with ≥2-grade improvement, ≥90% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI90), and minimal disease activity (MDA) at week 24 and were analyzed by intention-to-treat. RESULTS:Analyses included 451 randomized participants (Q4W n = 150; Q8W n = 151; placebo n = 150). At week 24, significantly greater proportions of guselkumab (Q4W/Q8W)-treated participants versus placebo-treated participants, respectively, achieved ACR20 (primary endpoint: 58.6%/62.2% vs 34.8%), ACR50 (31.4%/32.1% vs 12.2%), ACR70 (17.5%/17.3% vs 2.0%), IGA 0/1 response (50.0%/57.3% vs 17.4%), PASI90 (49.4%/45.5% vs 12.0%), and MDA (18.8%/23.9% vs 5.4%) (all P < 0.001). Through week 24, 46.7%, 53.6%, and 48.3% of participants receiving guselkumab Q4W, guselkumab Q8W, and placebo, respectively, had one or more adverse event. One death occurred (myocardial infarction). CONCLUSION:Comparable efficacy was observed with both guselkumab regimens in participants with active PsA and inadequate response to one prior TNF inhibitor; safety findings were consistent with the known profile of guselkumab in patients with psoriatic disease.

There is limited prior literature comparing long-term treatment persistence between guselkumab and subcutaneous (SC) tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in biologic-naïve and biologic-experienced patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This study compared on-label persistence through 24 months between patients with active PsA newly initiating guselkumab or SC TNFi. IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus database was used to identify adults with active PsA initiating guselkumab or an SC TNFi (adalimumab or biosimilar, certolizumab pegol, etanercept or biosimilar, SC golimumab) between 07/14/2020 and 12/31/2022 (index date: first treatment claim for one of these medications). Patients were further stratified as biologic-naïve (no pre-index biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug [bDMARD] claim) or biologic-experienced (≥ 1 pre-index bDMARD claim). The guselkumab and SC TNFi cohorts were balanced using overlap propensity score weighting. Treatment persistence with on-label therapy (absence of dose modification or therapy exposure gap of twice the duration between consecutive administrations, i.e., 112 days for guselkumab or 56 days for SC TNFi) was estimated using weighted Kaplan–Meier analysis through 24 months. On-label persistence rates were compared between cohorts using weighted Cox proportional hazards models. In the guselkumab cohort (N = 804), 361 (44.9

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a multi-domain, inflammatory disease impacting joints, soft tissues, and skin; tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) are typically the first biologic following inadequate response (IR) to conventional therapies. Although guidance is lacking on therapy selection after initial TNFi failure, data suggest TNFi-IR PsA patients may benefit from switching to a different mechanism of action (MOA) vs. cycling to another TNFi. Guselkumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the interleukin-23p19 subunit. Emphasizing practicality and applicability to routine clinical practice, EVOLUTION will pragmatically evaluate whether switching to guselkumab is more effective than cycling to a second TNFi (subcutaneous [SC] golimumab) in TNFi-IR PsA patients. The multicenter, longitudinal, prospective, observational Psoriatic Arthritis Research Consortium study guided eligibility criteria, outcome measures, and sample size estimates. Adults seen in clinical practice with active PsA (≥ 1 swollen joint) while receiving TNFi treatment will be eligible. Participants will be randomized (1:1:1) to guselkumab 100 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W); guselkumab 100 mg at Week 0, Week 4, and Q8W; or SC golimumab 50 mg Q4W (no washout period). The novel primary composite endpoint is achievement of clinical Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis (cDAPSA) low disease activity (≤ 13) and an Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) of psoriasis score of 0/1 (scale: 0–4) at Month12. Secondary endpoints include cDAPSA + IGA 0/1 at Month 6; achievement of minimal disease activity, resolution of enthesitis and dactylitis (among patients affected at baseline) at Months 6/12; and mean changes at Months 6/12 in the 12-item PsA Impact of Disease, Dermatology Life Quality Index, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurements Information System fatigue and depression questionnaires, and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (patients with physician-determined axial disease). The target sample size is 150 participants (50/treatment group); all analyses are considered exploratory. EVOLUTION will employ a pragmatic approach, including a novel primary endpoint relevant to clinical practice, to assess whether switching to an alternate MOA biologic with guselkumab is more effective than cycling to a second TNFi among TNFi-IR PsA patients. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05669833, on 3 January 2023, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05669833?term=

OBJECTIVES:The APEX study evaluated the effects of guselkumab, a fully human, dual-acting monoclonal antibody able to bind CD64 and selectively inhibit the interleukin (IL)-23p19 subunit, on clinical and radiographic outcomes in active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS:APEX (ongoing, phase 3b, double-blind, placebo-controlled) randomised (5:7:7) biologic-naïve adults with active PsA (≥3 tender, ≥3 swollen joints; C-reactive protein ≥0.3 mg/dL; ≥2 erosive joints) to subcutaneous guselkumab 100 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W); guselkumab 100 mg at week 0, week 4, then every 8 weeks (Q8W); or placebo every 4 weeks. Primary (proportion of participants achieving ≥20% improvement in American College of Rheumatology response criteria [ACR20]) and major secondary (total PsA-modified van der Heijde-Sharp [vdH-S] score least squares mean [LSM] change from baseline) endpoints at week 24 were multiplicity-controlled for comparing each guselkumab group versus placebo. RESULTS:Among 1020 participants (Q4W: 273; Q8W: 371; placebo: 376), significantly greater proportions of participants receiving guselkumab Q4W (66.6%) and Q8W (68.3%) versus placebo (47.0%) achieved ACR20 at week 24 (both P < 0.001). Baseline mean total vdH-S scores were 26.7 to 27.7 across groups; guselkumab Q4W- and Q8W-treated participants exhibited significantly lower rates of radiographic progression versus placebo at week 24 (total vdH-S score LSM change: 0.55 and 0.54 vs 1.35; P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively). Through week 24, 38.2%, 42.5%, and 37.3% of participants receiving guselkumab Q4W, Q8W, and placebo, respectively, had ≥1 adverse event, with no new safety signals. CONCLUSIONS:Guselkumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody able to bind CD64 and simultaneously inhibit the IL-23p19 subunit, provided significantly higher rates of clinical improvement and significant inhibition of structural damage progression versus placebo, with no new safety signals, at week 24 in biologic-naïve participants with active and erosive PsA.

Patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) initiating guselkumab are nearly two times more likely to remain persistent with on-label therapy at 12 months compared to those initiating subcutaneous (SC) interleukin-17A inhibitors (IL-17Ai). In this real-world study, on-label treatment persistence at 24 months was compared between patients with active PsA initiating guselkumab versus SC IL-17Ai, overall and among biologic-naïve and biologic-experienced subgroups. Adult patients with active PsA initiated on guselkumab or SC IL-17Ai (secukinumab, ixekizumab) between July 14 2020 and December 31 2022 were identified from the IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus database. The first claim defined the index date, and results were stratified based on previous biologic (bDMARD) use. Treatment cohorts were balanced using propensity score overlap weighting. On-label treatment persistence (no treatment discontinuation or dose modification) through 24 months was assessed using weighted Kaplan-Meier curves and compared between cohorts using Cox proportional hazards models. Overall, 849 patients initiating guselkumab (biologic-naïve: 362, biologic-experienced: 487) and 2601 patients initiating SC IL-17Ai (biologic-naïve: 845, biologic-experienced: 1756) were included. On-label treatment persistence rates at 24 months were 44.9

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and juvenile PsA (jPsA) are chronic inflammatory diseases with similar features that differ by age and sequence of symptom onset. PsA and psoriasis (PsO) share comparable pathology across ages, with interleukin (IL)-23 as a key mediator. Prior to the recent US FDA approval of guselkumab for treatment of pediatric plaque PsO and active jPsA, no approved pediatric treatment selectively targeted IL-23 signaling. Guselkumab (a fully human, dual-acting, IL-23p19 subunit inhibitor) was shown to be safe and effective in adult PsO and PsA, with consistent clinical benefits and safety in pediatric PsO. As jPsA shares features, including clinical characteristics and pathogenesis, with PsO and PsA, findings were extrapolated to jPsA using a similar approach previously applied to support ustekinumab and golimumab use in jPsA, which served as precedents for these analyses with guselkumab. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the similarity of serum guselkumab concentrations, clinical response, and safety among children and adults with PsO and/or PsA in guselkumab randomized controlled trials. One-year data from participants receiving guselkumab at Week (W)0, W4, then every 8 weeks in VOYAGE 1/2 (adult PsO; N = 1221), DISCOVER-1/-2 (adult PsA; N = 375), and PROTOSTAR (pediatric PsO; N = 92; n = 3 with concurrent jPsA) were included. Serum guselkumab concentrations, Investigator Global Assessment of clear/minimal (IGA 0/1) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75/90/100 response rates and safety outcomes were summarized. Serum guselkumab concentrations over 1 year were similar between pediatric (max median: 3.2 µg/mL) and adult PsO (3.7 µg/mL), adult PsO and PsA (4.2 µg/mL), and pediatric PsO and adult PsA. IGA 0/1 response rates at W16 were approximately similar in guselkumab-treated participants with pediatric PsO (66 www.clinicaltrials.gov with the identifiers: NCT02207231 (VOYAGE 1), NCT02207244 (VOYAGE 2), NCT03162796 (DISCOVER-1), NCT03158285 (DISCOVER-2), and NCT03451851 (PROTOSTAR).

Abstract Background Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) are frequently chosen as the first biologic for patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Given that many patients with PsA are TNFi inadequate responders (TNF-IR; either inadequate efficacy or intolerance), treatments utilizing alternative mechanisms of action are needed. In phase 3 studies, the fully human interleukin (IL)-23p19 subunit-inhibitor, guselkumab, was efficacious in patients with active PsA, including TNFi-IR. Efficacy was generally consistent between TNFi-naïve and TNFi-experienced cohorts; however, in the latter, higher response rates have been observed with the Q4W dosing regimen relative to the Q8W dosing regimen for some endpoints, suggesting the need to evaluate whether more frequent dosing may provide an incremental clinical benefit for TNFi-IR patients. Methods The phase 3b SOLSTICE study will assess guselkumab efficacy and safety in TNFi-IR PsA patients. Eligibility criteria include a PsA diagnosis for ≥ 6 months; active disease (≥ 3 swollen, ≥ 3 tender joints, C-reactive protein ≥ 0.3 mg/dL); and inadequate efficacy with, and/or intolerance to, one prior TNFi. Participants will be randomized 1:1:1 to guselkumab Q4W or Q8W or placebo→guselkumab Q4W (at Week 24). The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients achieving ≥ 20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR20) at Week 24. Major secondary endpoints include ACR50, ACR70; an Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) of psoriasis score of 0/1 plus ≥ 2-grade reduction and ≥ 90% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (both among patients with ≥ 3% body surface area affected by psoriasis and baseline IGA ≥ 2); minimal/very low disease activity; and changes from baseline in Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index, the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey Physical Component Summary, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scores. The target sample size (N = 450) is estimated to provide > 90% power in detecting differences between each guselkumab group and the placebo group for the primary endpoint assuming a 2-sided α = 0.05. Cochran-Mantel–Haenszel testing and analyses of covariance will be used to compare efficacy for binary and continuous endpoints, respectively. Discussion Findings from the phase 3b SOLSTICE study, the design of which was informed by results from previously conducted phase 3 studies, is expected to provide important efficacy and safety information on guselkumab therapy in TNFi-IR patients with PsA. Trial registration This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04936308, on 23 June 2021.

Background: Guselkumab (human monoclonal antibody) selectively inhibits the interleukin (IL)-23p19 subunit. Objectives: Assess the longer-term pharmacodynamic effects of guselkumab and explore associations between such effects and clinical responses in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Design: DISCOVER-2 randomized 739 biologic-naïve patients with active PsA (swollen/tender joint counts each ⩾5, C-reactive protein (CRP) ⩾0.6 mg/dL) to guselkumab (100 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W) or at Weeks 0, 4, and then Q8W) or placebo. Guselkumab-randomized participants with available serum biomarker data (randomly selected to reflect demographic and disease characteristics of the DISCOVER-2 population) comprised inflammatory ( N = 100) and collagen ( N = 178) biomarker cohorts. Methods: Pharmacodynamic effects of guselkumab through 2 years on inflammatory and collagen biomarker levels (general linear model) and associations between biomarkers and improvements in composite measures of joint, skin, and overall disease activity (Spearman linear regression) through 2 years were assessed. The relationship between the pharmacodynamic effects of guselkumab and achieving ⩾50% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR50) was assessed using a general linear model. Results: With guselkumab, pharmacodynamic effects on inflammatory (CRP, IL-6, serum amyloid A (SAA), IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-22, and beta-defensin 2 (BD-2)) and collagen (matrix metalloproteinase-degradation type I, III, IV, and VI collagen (C1M, C3M, C4M, and C6M)) biomarker levels were sustained or enhanced through Week 100. Throughout follow-up timepoints (Week 24/52/100), decreases in CRP, IL-6, C1M, and C6M levels correlated ( r = 0.26–0.30; p < 0.05) with improved joint disease activity (Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis); decreases in IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-22, and BD-2 levels correlated ( r = 0.34–0.58; p < 0.05) with improved skin disease (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index); and decreases in C1M, C3M, C4M, and C6M correlated ( r = 0.27–0.31; p < 0.05) with improved overall disease activity (Psoriatic Arthritis Disease Activity Score). Significantly ( p < 0.05) greater reductions from baseline at Week 100 in CRP, IL-6, SAA, and C1M levels were observed in participants improving from Week 24 ACR50 nonresponse to Week 100 ACR50 response and were accompanied by a significant decrease in C1M from Week 24 to Week 100 versus nonresponders at both Weeks 24 and 100. Conclusion: In biologic-naïve participants with active PsA, guselkumab elicited substantial and enduring reductions in biomarkers that were associated with durable improvements in joint, skin, and overall disease activity through 2 years of DISCOVER-2. Trial registration: NCT03158285 (clinicaltrials.gov identifier).

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that often goes unrecognized in patients with psoriasis. As a result, patients may develop significant structural damage before diagnosis and initiation of adequate treatment. Dermatologists are in an unique position to identify early signs and symptoms of PsA. Here, we briefly review the pathogenesis of PsA, differences in PsA presentation within real-world dermatology practice versus rheumatology clinical trials, and imaging modalities that can be used to assess structural damage. We then discuss several ongoing controversies related to prediction, assessment, and treatment of PsA-related structural damage. Debated questions include the following: (1) Does subclinical enthesitis predict progression from psoriasis to PsA?, (2) Does methotrexate inhibit progression of structural damage?, (3) Does structural damage correlate with clinical disease activity?, and (4) Can progression from psoriasis to PsA be prevented? Evidence presented herein suggests that dermatologists, together with rheumatologists, can play important roles in the early diagnosis and treatment of PsA, thereby potentially preventing irreversible structural damage. ( J Am Acad Dermatol 2024;90:349-57.)

Background To explore the trajectory of, and factors contributing to, achievement of individual criteria of minimal disease activity (MDA) in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treated with guselkumab. Methods The Phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled DISCOVER-2 study enrolled adults ( N = 739) with active PsA despite standard therapies who were biologic/Janus kinase inhibitor-naive. Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to guselkumab 100 mg every 4 weeks; guselkumab 100 mg at week 0, week 4, then every 8 weeks; or placebo. In this post hoc analysis, patients randomized to guselkumab were included and pooled ( N = 493). Longitudinal trajectories of achieving each MDA criterion through week 100 were derived using non-responder imputation. Time to achieve each criterion was estimated with Kaplan-Meier analysis. Multivariate regression for time to achieve each criterion (Cox regression) and achievement at week 100 (logistic regression) was used to identify contributing factors. Results Continuous improvement across all MDA domains was shown over time. ~70% of patients achieved near remission in swollen joint count (SJC), Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), and enthesitis through week 100. Median times to achieve individual criteria differed significantly ( p < 0.0001), with SJC ≤ 1 (20 weeks), PASI ≤ 1 (16 weeks), and ≤ 1 tender entheses (16 weeks) being faster than patient-reported criteria (pain ≤ 15 mm, patient global assessment of arthritis and psoriasis ≤ 20 mm, Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index ≤ 0.5) and tender joint count ≤ 1. Higher baseline domain scores, older age, worse fatigue, and increased body mass index were significant predictors of longer time to achieve minimal levels of disease activity assessed via patient-reported criteria. Conclusions Substantial proportions of guselkumab-treated patients achieved individual MDA criteria, each showing continuous improvement through week 100, although with distinct trajectories. Median times to achieve physician-assessed MDA criteria were significantly faster compared with patient-driven criteria. Identification of modifiable factors affecting the time to achieve patient-reported criteria has the potential to optimize the achievement and sustainability of MDA in the clinic via a multidisciplinary approach to managing PsA, involving both medical and lifestyle interventions. Trial registration number NCT03158285. Trial registration date May 16, 2017.