A DRUG INDUCED REMISSION SIGNATURE PROMISES PERSONALIZED THERAPY IN RA PATIENTS

Background: Today the objective for efficient Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) therapy is not restricted to reduced synovial inflammation but to induce immunological and clinicaly lasting remission. Despite improvement in therapy of RA, anti-TNF alpha or anti-IL-6 (Tocilizumab) biologicals provide less than 20% of clinical remission. Interestingly, the complete remission can last up to 12 months in about 40% of these patients despite discontinuation of the above biologicals. In order to set up optimized strategy to obtain persistent clinical remission, new predictive markers of complete remission are needed. Objectives: By using Firalis’ BIOPRED panel, an innovative targeted gene sequencing panel of 2155 mRNA targets associated with immune-inflammatory pathways, we identified candidate biomarkers that have the potential to stratify patients for personalized therapy. Methods: Paxgene RNA samples obtained from 18 RA patients treated with Etanercept (n=11) and Tocilizumab (n=7) who had achieved remission (DAS28 Results: In total, 37 mRNA targets are found to be significantly up- or down-regulated in Etanercept groups as compared to Tocilizumab group (p-value 2 (p-value Conclusion: Our preliminary analysis shows that a panel of candidate predictive markers for biological specific (Etanercept) remission has the potential to stratify patients for personalized therapy in RA patients. Longitudinal studies are required with RA patients treated with all biologicals to validate this signature and explore further dimensions. Disclosure of Interests: None declared