Canagliflozin significantly improved glycemic control and was well tolerated.

Aims:We examined the efficacy, safety and tolerability of canagliflozin, a sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor, in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) undergoing diet and exercise therapy. Methods:Patients aged 20-80 years with T2DM diagnosed ≥3 months previously, and HbA1c of 6.9-9.9% were randomized to 50, 100, 200 or 300 mg canagliflozin or placebo once daily for 12 weeks. The primary and secondary endpoints were changes in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), urinary glucose/creatinine and postprandial glycaemic parameters following a meal test. The safety assessments included adverse events (AEs) and clinical laboratory tests. Results:Overall, 383 patients were randomized to receive either placebo (n = 75), or 50 mg (n = 82), 100 mg (n = 74), 200 mg (n = 77) or 300 mg canagliflozin (n = 75). At week 12, significant reductions in HbA1c were observed in all canagliflozin groups relative to placebo (−0.61, -0.80, -0.79 and −0.88% for 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg, respectively, versus +0.11% for placebo; all, p < 0.01). FPG and postprandial glycaemic parameters improved significantly in the canagliflozin groups. Body weight was significantly decreased by canagliflozin. No deaths or drug-related serious AEs were reported. There was no dose-dependent increase in the incidence of AEs in the canagliflozin groups. The incidence of hypoglycaemia was low; episodes were not severe or dose dependent. Canagliflozin did not affect serum creatinine levels or the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio. Conclusions:Treatment with canagliflozin for 12 weeks significantly improved glycaemic control and reduced body weight in Japanese patients with T2DM. Canagliflozin was well tolerated.

ObjectivesTo investigate the possible role of baseline plasma tumour necrosis factor alpha levels (baseline-TNF) on the clinical response to infliximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).MethodsPatients with RA refractory to methotrexate received 3, 6, or 10 mg/kg of infliximab every 8 weeks, in a randomised, double-blind manner: the RISING study. Clinical response (disease activity score in 28 joints based on C-reactive protein or American College of Rheumatology core set) at week 54 and serum infliximab levels were compared in three patient groups with low, intermediate, or high baseline-TNF (TNF-low, TNF-int, or TNF-high).ResultsIn TNF-low patients, the clinical response to different doses of infliximab was comparable, whereas TNF-int patients exhibited a dose-dependent trend. In contrast, TNF-high patients (approximately 13% of the total patients) had a clinical response to 10 mg/kg significantly better than the response to 3 and 6 mg/kg of infliximab. In TNF-high patients, the median trough serum levels of infliximab were below the detection limit (<0.1 μg/ml) at 3 and 6 mg/kg but were greater than 2 μg/ml at 10 mg/kg, whereas the levels were approximately 1 μg/ml for each dosage group in TNF-low patients.ConclusionIn patients with RA, baseline-TNF is significantly associated with the clinical response to infliximab in patients with a high baseline-TNF. A higher dose of infliximab may be necessary in these patients, whereas lower doses of infliximab are sufficient for those with a low baseline-TNF. Baseline-TNF may be a useful measure for personalising the treatment of RA using infliximab.

Aims/IntroductionCanagliflozin is a sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor under development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to examine its efficacy and safety as monotherapy or in combination with commonly used oral antihyperglycemic drugs in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.Materials and MethodsPatients on diet/exercise alone or diet/exercise plus an oral antihyperglycemic drug (sulfonylurea, glinide, α-glucosidase inhibitor, biguanide, thiazolidinedione or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor) were randomized to either 100 or 200 mg canagliflozin while continuing prior therapy. Patients were treated for 52 weeks in an open-label manner.ResultsCanagliflozin significantly reduced hemoglobin A1c, fasting plasma glucose and bodyweight in all the study groups. Improvements were apparent by 4 weeks of treatment, and were maintained for 52 weeks. The reduction in hemoglobin A1c ranged from −0.80 to −1.06%, and from −0.93 to −1.26% in the 100 and 200 mg canagliflozin groups, respectively. Drug-related adverse events occurred in approximately one-third of patients, and included hypoglycemia/asymptomatic hypoglycemia and pollakiuria. Hypoglycemia/asymptomatic hypoglycemia was most common in patients treated with a sulfonylurea. Most adverse events were classified as mild or moderate in severity.ConclusionsThe results of the present study confirmed that treatment with canagliflozin resulted in significant reductions in glycemic control and bodyweight that were maintained for 52 weeks of treatment irrespective of whether it was administered as monotherapy or in combination with another oral antihyperglycemic drug. Canagliflozin was well tolerated, with a low incidence of drug-related adverse events. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (no. NCT01387737).

ObjectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of golimumab + methotrexate (MTX) in Japanese patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods269 Japanese patients with active RA despite treatment with MTX were randomised (1:1:1) to placebo + MTX (Group 1), golimumab 50 mg + MTX (Group 2) or golimumab 100 mg + MTX (Group 3). Subcutaneous golimumab/placebo was injected every 4 weeks; stable doses of oral MTX (6–8 mg/week) were continued. Patients were allowed to enter early escape (Group 1 added golimumab 50 mg, Group 2 increased golimumab to 100 mg, Group 3 continued golimumab 100 mg) based on swollen/tender joint counts at week 14. The primary study endpoint was achievement of at least 20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR20) response criteria at week 14. To control for multiplicity of testing, treatment group comparisons were first made between combined Groups 2 and 3 versus Group 1, followed by comparisons of Group 2 and Group 3 versus Group 1.ResultsThe proportion of patients with an ACR20 response at week 14 was significantly higher in combined Groups 2 and 3 (73.4%, 127/173) and in each of Group 2 (72.1%, 62/86) and Group 3 (74.7%, 65/87) compared with Group 1 (27.3%, 24/88; p<0.0001 for all comparisons). Golimumab + MTX also elicited a significantly better response than placebo + MTX in other efficacy parameters, including disease activity score (DAS28) response/remission and radiographic assessments. During the 16-week fixed treatment regimen study period, 72.7%, 75.6% and 78.2% of patients had adverse events and 1.1%, 1.2% and 2.3% had serious adverse events in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively.ConclusionIn Japanese patients with active RA despite MTX therapy, golimumab + MTX was significantly more effective than MTX monotherapy in reducing RA signs/symptoms and limiting radiographic progression with no unexpected safety concerns.