Methotrexate and Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors Independently Decrease Neutralizing Antibodies after SARS-CoV-2...

Objective: SARS-CoV-2 remains the third most common cause of death in North America. We studied the effects of methotrexate and tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) on neutralization responses after COVID-19 vaccination in immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID). Methods: Prospective data and sera of adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and systemic lupus (SLE) were collected at six academic centers in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec between 2022 and 2023. Sera from two time points were evaluated for each subject. Neutralization studies were divided between five laboratories, and each lab's results were analyzed separately using multivariate generalized logit models (ordinal outcomes: absent, low, medium, and high neutralization). Odds ratios (ORs) for the effects of methotrexate and TNFi were adjusted for demographics, IMID, other biologics and immunosuppressives, prednisone, COVID-19 vaccinations (number/type), and infections in the 6 months prior to sampling. The adjusted ORs for methotrexate and TNFi were then pooled in random-effects meta-analyses (separately for the ancestral strains and the Omicron BA1 and BA5 strains). Results: Of 479 individuals (958 samples), 292 (61%) were IBD, 141 (29.4%) were RA, and the remainder were PsA, SpA, and SLE. The mean age was 57 (62.2% female). For both the individual labs and the meta-analyses, the adjusted ORs suggested independent negative effects of TNFi and methotrexate on neutralization. The meta-analysis adjusted ORs for TNFi were 0.56 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39, 0.81) for the ancestral strain and 0.56 (95% CI 0.39, 0.81) for BA5. The meta-analysis adjusted OR for methotrexate was 0.39 (95% CI 0.19, 0.76) for BA1. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 neutralization in vaccinated IMID was diminished independently by TNFi and methotrexate. As SARS-CoV-2 circulation continues, ongoing vigilance regarding optimized vaccination is required.