Anti-Biopharmaceutical Immunization: Prediction and Analysis of Clinical Relevance to Minimize the Risk of Immunization in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients or Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Patients

Overview

One of the main potential causes of these failures of BP therapy response is the development of Anti-drug Anti-body (ADAb) in some patients. ADAb may decrease the efficacy of BPs by neutralizing them or modifying their clearance and they may be associated with BP-specific hypersensitivity reactions. The prediction, prevention and cure of anti-drug (AD) immunization are thus major goals in BP development. This prospective study (ABI-RA) will assess the occurrence of ADAb using standardized and validated assay(s) and also cellular, genetic and molecular parameters in RA/JIA patients treated with adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab and rituximab or tocilizumab, to address the mechanism of immunogenicity. Patient-related factors that might predispose an individual to an immune response will be taken into account: underlying disease, genetic background, immune status, including immunomodulating therapy and dosing schedule.

The ABIRISK (Anti-biopharmaceutical Immunization: Prediction and analysis of clinical relevance to minimize the risk) consortium, within the IMI (Innovative Medicines Initiative), is a Public Private Partnership between pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and clinical centers. The ABIRISK aims are to better analyze and predict the phenomenon of immunogenicity in order to reduce its occurrence. One of the main objectives of ABIRISK is to set up prospective cohort (ABI-RA) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) to provide, using an integrated approach, new tools for being able to detect earlier and even before the beginning of the therapy, immunization to biopharmaceutical (BP). The introduction of BP has been a critical step forward in care for RA/JIA and 9 BP are now licensed for the treatment of RA/JIA. In spite of this progress, failure of response to BP is frequent and in most of the registries, less than 50 % of patients are still on drug at 5 years. These failures may be primary failures or secondary failures. The fact is that the low level of responses becomes insufficient compared to the expectations. One of the main potential causes of these failures of BP therapy response is the development of Anti-drug Anti-body (ADAb) in some patients. ADAb may decrease the efficacy of BPs by neutralizing them or modifying their clearance and they may be associated with BP-specific hypersensitivity reactions. The prediction, prevention and cure of anti-drug (AD) immunization are thus major goals in BP development. This prospective study (ABI-RA) will assess the occurrence of ADAb using standardized and validated assay(s) and also cellular, genetic and molecular parameters in RA/JIA patients treated with adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab and rituximab or tocilizumab, to address the mechanism of immunogenicity. Patient-related factors that might predispose an individual to an immune response will be taken into account: underlying disease, genetic background, immune status, including immunomodulating therapy and dosing schedule.