New juvenile arthritis drug shows good results in Phase I and II trial

A new drug for systematic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) has shown promising results in a Phase I/II clinical trial.

The drug, canakinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody currently in development to treat a wide range of autoinflammatory diseases, has been shown to rapidly control the disease's symptoms in children.

Researchers observed 19 children with SJIA aged between four and 19 years, who had fever, at least two inflamed joints, and all signs of the systemic inflammation.

Study participants were administered a single subcutaneous injection of canakinumab dosed at 0.5-9 mg per kilogramme of body weight, followed by an observation period and re-dosing upon relapse.

The results, presented at the 15th Paediatric Rheumatology European Society Congress (PRES) showed that 11 of the 19 patients responded to canakinumab quickly.

An improvement of at least 50 per cent was observed within two weeks, while four patients were classified as disease-free.

Treatment was well-tolerated by the patients, with the most common adverse effect being upper respiratory tract infection.

A spokeswoman for the Arthritis Research Campaign said the results of the trial were encouraging, which if reproduced in larger Phase III trials, could lead to more treatment options in childhood arthritis.

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