Study Comparing Doses Of An Experimental Glucocorticoid Compound To Prednisone And Placebo In Rheumatoid Arthritis

Percentage of Participants Achieving ACR20 Response at Weeks 2, 4, and 12 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

ACR20 response: greater than or equal to (≥) 90 percent (%) improvement in tender or swollen joint counts and 90% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) participant's assessment of disease activity, 3) participant's assessment of pain, 4) participant's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, and 12 (taper period)

Percentage of Participants Achieving ACR50 Response at Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

ACR50 response: greater than or equal to (≥) 50 percent (%) improvement in tender or swollen joint counts and 50% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) participant's assessment of disease activity, 3) participant's assessment of pain, 4) participant's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 (taper period)

Percentage of Participants Achieving ACR70 Response at Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

ACR70 response: greater than or equal to (≥) 70 percent (%) improvement in tender or swollen joint counts and 70% improvement in 3 of the following 5 criteria: 1) physician's global assessment of disease activity, 2) subject's assessment of disease activity, 3) subject's assessment of pain, 4) subject's assessment of functional disability via a health assessment questionnaire, and 5) C-reactive protein at each visit.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 (taper period)

Change From Baseline in Tender-Joint Counts at Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

Twenty-eight tender/painful joint count included the following joints: shoulders, elbows, wrists, metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and knees. Artificial joints were not assessed. These joints were assessed by a joint assessor, who was blinded to the participant's safety data, previous efficacy data and treatment randomization, to determine the number of joints that were considered tender or painful, and swollen.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in Tender-Joint Counts at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

Twenty-eight tender/painful joint count included the following joints: shoulders, elbows, wrists, metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and knees. Artificial joints were not assessed. These joints were assessed by a joint assessor, who was blinded to the participant's safety data, previous efficacy data and treatment randomization, to determine the number of joints that were considered tender or painful, and swollen.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in Swollen-Joint Counts at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

Twenty-eight tender/painful joint count included the following joints: shoulders, elbows, wrists, metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and knees. Artificial joints were not assessed. These joints were assessed by a joint assessor, who was blinded to the participant's safety data, previous efficacy data and treatment randomization, to determine the number of joints that were considered tender or painful, and swollen.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in Swollen-Joint Counts at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

Twenty-eight tender/painful joint count included the following joints: shoulders, elbows, wrists, metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and knees. Artificial joints were not assessed. These joints were assessed by a joint assessor, who was blinded to the participant's safety data, previous efficacy data and treatment randomization, to determine the number of joints that were considered tender or painful, and swollen.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in C Reactive Protein (CRP) at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo and Prednisone 10 mg)

The CRP was collected at each applicable clinic visit and analyzed by a central laboratory. In order to assist with the data clean-up at the end of the study, the CRP results were unblinded to the sponsor at the time of the last subject's last visit. All statistics presented below are derived from mixed model with fixed effects for treatment, visit, treatment-by-visit interaction and baseline value; unstructured covariance matrix was used.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline of CRP at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

The CRP was collected at each applicable clinic visit and analyzed by a central laboratory. In order to assist with the data clean-up at the end of the study, the CRP results were unblinded to the sponsor at the time of the last subject's last visit.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in Patient Global Assessment of Arthritis at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

Participants answered the following question, "Considering all the ways your arthritis affects you, how are you feeling today?" The subject's response was recorded using a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS), where 0 mm = no pain and 100 mm = most severe pain.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in Patient Global Assessment of Arthritis at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

Participants answered the following question, "Considering all the ways your arthritis affects you, how are you feeling today?" The subject's response was recorded using a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS), where 0 mm = no pain and 100 mm = most severe pain.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in Physician Global Assessment of Arthritis at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

The investigator assessed how the participant's overall arthritis appears at the time of the visit. This was an evaluation based on the participant's disease signs, functional capacity and physical examination, and was independent of the Patient's Global Assessment of Arthritis. The investigator's response was recorded using a 100 mm VAS, where 0 mm = no pain and 100 mm = most severe pain.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in Physician Global Assessment of Arthritis at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

The investigator assessed how the participant's overall arthritis appears at the time of the visit. This was an evaluation based on the participant's disease signs, functional capacity and physical examination, and was independent of the Patient's Global Assessment of Arthritis. The investigator's response was recorded using a 100 mm VAS, where 0 mm = no pain and 100 mm = most severe pain.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in Pain VAS at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

Participants assessed the severity of their arthritis pain using a 100 mm VAS placing a mark on the scale between 0 (no pain) and 100 (most severe pain), which corresponds to the magnitude of their pain.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in Pain VAS at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

Participants assessed the severity of their arthritis pain using a 100 mm VAS placing a mark on the scale between 0 (no pain) and 100 (most severe pain), which corresponds to the magnitude of their pain.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in HAQ-DI at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI): participant-reported assessment of ability to perform tasks in 8 categories of daily living activities: dress/groom; arise; eat; walk; reach; grip; hygiene; and common activities over past week. Each item scored on 4-point scale from 0 to 3: 0=no difficulty; 1=some difficulty; 2=much difficulty; 3=unable to do. Overall score was computed as the sum of domain scores and divided by the number of domains answered. Total possible score range 0-3 where 0 = least difficulty and 3 = extreme difficulty.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in HAQ-DI at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI): participant-reported assessment of ability to perform tasks in 8 categories of daily living activities: dress/groom; arise; eat; walk; reach; grip; hygiene; and common activities over past week. Each item scored on 4-point scale from 0 to 3: 0=no difficulty; 1=some difficulty; 2=much difficulty; 3=unable to do. Overall score was computed as the sum of domain scores and divided by the number of domains answered. Total possible score range 0-3 where 0 = least difficulty and 3 = extreme difficulty.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28-3 CRP at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

DAS28-3 (CRP) was calculated from the SJC and TJC using the 28 joints count and CRP (mg/L). Total score range: 0 to 9.4, higher score indicated more disease activity. DAS28-3 (CRP) \<= 3.2 implied low disease activity and \>3.2 to 5.1 implied moderate to high disease activity, and DAS28-3 (CRP) \<2.6 = remission.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in DAS 28-3 CRP at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

DAS28-3 (CRP) was calculated from the SJC and TJC using the 28 joints count and CRP (mg/L). Total score range: 0 to 9.4, higher score indicated more disease activity. DAS28-3 (CRP) \<= 3.2 implied low disease activity and \>3.2 to 5.1 implied moderate to high disease activity, and DAS28-3 (CRP) \<2.6 = remission.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in DAS28-4(CRP) at Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

DAS28-4 (CRP) was calculated from the SJC and TJC using the 28 joints count and CRP (mg/L). Total score range: 0 to 9.4, higher score indicated more disease activity. DAS28-3 (CRP) \<= 3.2 implied low disease activity and \>3.2 to 5.1 implied moderate to high disease activity, and DAS28-3 (CRP) \<2.6 = remission. All statistics presented below are derived from mixed model with fixed effects for treatment, visit, treatment-by-visit interaction and baseline value; unstructured covariance matrix was used.

Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8

Change From Baseline in DAS28-4(CRP) at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

DAS28-4 (CRP) was calculated from the SJC and TJC using the 28 joints count and CRP (mg/L). Total score range: 0 to 9.4, higher score indicated more disease activity. DAS28-3 (CRP) \<= 3.2 implied low disease activity and \>3.2 to 5.1 implied moderate to high disease activity, and DAS28-3 (CRP) \<2.6 = remission.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in SF-36v2 Mental Component Scores at Weeks 4 and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

The 36 item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) (Versions 2, acute version) is a 36 item generic health status measure. It measures 8 general health concepts: physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health. These concepts can also be summarized as physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS). The score for a section is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0-100 (100=highest level of functioning). This questionnaire was completed by the participant prior to any procedures being performed at the visit, if possible. The form was then checked by site staff for completeness.

Time frame: Weeks 4 and 8

Change From Baseline in SF-36v2 Mental Component Scores at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

The 36 item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) (Versions 2, acute version) is a 36 item generic health status measure. It measures 8 general health concepts: physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health. These concepts can also be summarized as physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS). The score for a section is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0-100 (100=highest level of functioning). This questionnaire was completed by the participant prior to any procedures being performed at the visit, if possible. The form was then checked by site staff for completeness.

Time frame: Week 12

Change From Baseline in SF-36v2 Physical Component Scores at Weeks 4 and 8 (Comparisons to Placebo, and Prednisone 10 mg)

The 36 item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) (Versions 2, acute version) is a 36 item generic health status measure. It measures 8 general health concepts: physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health. These concepts can also be summarized as physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS). The score for a section is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0-100 (100=highest level of functioning). This questionnaire was completed by the participant prior to any procedures being performed at the visit, if possible. The form was then checked by site staff for completeness.

Time frame: Weeks 4 and 8

Change From Baseline in SF-36v2 Physical Component Scores at Week 12 (Descriptive Statistics)

The 36 item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) (Versions 2, acute version) is a 36 item generic health status measure. It measures 8 general health concepts: physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health. These concepts can also be summarized as physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS). The score for a section is an average of the individual question scores, which are scaled 0-100 (100=highest level of functioning). This questionnaire was completed by the participant prior to any procedures being performed at the visit, if possible. The form was then checked by site staff for completeness.

Time frame: Week 12