Filgotinib, a Novel JAK1-Preferential Inhibitor for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Overview from Clinical Trials

Mod Rheumatol. 2021 Mar 19:1-26. Epub ahead of print. DOI 10.1080/14397595.2021.1902617

Filgotinib is the latest JAKinib to enter the international market for the treatment of RA, receiving regulatory approval in Japan and Europe late last year. In this review paper, Tanaka Y et al. examine the clinical evidence supporting its use as a later-line treatment, in accordance with international RA management guidelines, and provide their expert opinions on JAKinibs from a clinical perspective.The core clinical programme evaluating filgotinib in patients with moderately-to-severely active RA, consisting of three phase 2b (DARWIN 1–3) and four phase 3 (FINCH 1–4) studies, has mainly focused on its use as combination therapy, although filgotinib monotherapy has also been evaluated in some studies.Overall filgotinib has demonstrated efficacy as both combination and monotherapy, with a consistently acceptable safety and tolerability profile. With increasing treatment options becoming available in this field, experts suggest that more evidence would be needed to elucidate if there are clinically significant differences among them in terms of efficacy and safety.