Conditions: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 427
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study will compare the safety and efficacy of tapering methotrexate (MTX) versus maintaining MTX dosage in patients with severe active rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) initiated on treatment with tocilizumab. Participants will receive tocilizumab 8 mg/kg intravenously every 4 weeks and MTX orally weekly throughout the study. At Week 24, participants achieving a good/moderate EULAR response will be randomized receiving the MTX Tapering arm or MTX Maintenance arm. Up to Week 56 participants will receive either tapering or stable dose MTX in combination with tocilizumab. From Week 56 to Week 72 participants will receive tocilizumab monotherapy.

Detailed description:

Arms:
arm 1: At Week 0 participants will start open-label tocilizumab and open-label MTX for 24 weeks. At Week 24, participants achieving a good/moderate European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) disease response will be randomized to the MTX Tapering group or MTX Maintenance group. In this arm participants will receive a double-blind MTX dose according to the MTX tapering scheme between Week 24 and Week 56. Participants will also continue to receive open-label tocilizumab between Week 24 and Week 56. From Week 56 to Week 72 participants will receive tocilizumab monotherapy. arm 2: At Week 0 participants will start open-label tocilizumab and open-label MTX for 24 weeks. At Week 24, participants achieving a good/moderate European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) disease response will be randomized to the MTX Tapering group or MTX Maintenance group. In this arm participants will continue to be administered a stable dose of MTX in a double-blind fashion between Week 24 and Week 56. Participants will also continue to receive open-label tocilizumab between Week 24 and Week 56. From Week 56 to Week 72 participants will receive tocilizumab monotherapy.

Interventions: intervention 1: Methotrexate (stable dose) intervention 2: Tocilizumab intervention 3: Methotrexate (tapering dose)
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Methotrexate (MTX) was administered weekly according to the subject's pre-study MTX dose intervention 2: 8 mg/kg intravenously every 4 weeks for 72 weeks intervention 3: Tapering doses of methotrexate (MTX) were administered weekly from Week 24 to Week 56. Tapering doses depended on dose administered to the subject during the open label period. First tapering occurred at randomization (Week 24), second tapering at Week 32, third tapering at Week 40 and final tapering at Week 48.

Protocol document: