Drug therapy in juvenile spondyloarthritis

This review summarizes latest developments in treatment of juvenile spondyloarthritis (JSpA), specifically enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA).

There has been addition of biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) beyond tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) for JSpA such as IL-17 blockers, IL-23 blockers, and janus activating kinase inhibitors with favorable safety profile. Conducting robust clinical trials for this subpopulation of JIA remains a challenge; extrapolation studies are being used to obtain approval from regulatory agencies.

Newer drug therapies have expanded the scope of treatment for patients with JSpA. bDMARDs such as adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, and secukinumab have demonstrated clinically significant treatment efficacy in ERA and JPsA. Based on extrapolation studies, intravenous golimumab, etanercept, abatacept, and ustekinumab have gained Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for JPsA. Long-term follow-up studies continue to demonstrate acceptable safety profiles. There is need for more real-world data on drug efficacy from Registry studies and research on effective de-escalation strategies.