Which therapy should be chosen for hard-to-treat RA?

A head-to-head study pits a second-generation JAK inhibitor against abatacept
Clare Pain
hands with damage from RA

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis refractory to biologics might dampen disease activity by taking the JAK inhibitor upadacitinib — but at a cost of more adverse events compared with abatacept, a trial shows.

In the SELECT-CHOICE trial, carried out in 28 countries including Australia, 612 patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) refractory to biological disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were randomised to upadacatinib 15mg daily or intravenous abatacept over 24 weeks.