Comparative safety of abatacept in rheumatoid arthritis with COPD: A real-world population-based observational study

The ASSURE randomized trial of abatacept safety in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) reported more frequent respiratory adverse events with abatacept among the subgroup of 54 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to a label warning. We assessed the risk of adverse respiratory events associated with abatacept, compared with other biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs), among patients with RA and COPD in a real-world observational setting.

We formed a prevalent new-user cohort of patients with RA and COPD treated with bDMARDs within the US-based MarketScan databases from 2007 to 2014. Abatacept users were matched on time-conditional propensity scores to users of other bDMARDs. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of adverse respiratory events comparing abatacept with other bDMARDs were estimated using the Cox model.

The cohort included 1807 patients initiating abatacept and 3547 matched patients initiating another bDMARD. The HR of the combined endpoint of hospitalized COPD exacerbation, bronchitis and hospitalized pneumonia or influenza with abatacept relative to other bDMARDs was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.68-1.12). For hospitalized COPD exacerbation it was 0.60 (95% CI: 0.32-1.11), 0.80 (95% CI: 0.56-1.14) for bronchitis, while for pneumonia or influenza it was 1.39 (95% CI: 0.91-2.13) if hospitalized and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.86-1.29) as outpatient.

This large safety study from a real world setting finds no increased risk of adverse respiratory events with abatacept compared with other bDMARDs in patients with RA and COPD. This study does not substantiate the safety signal raised by the smaller ASSURE trial.