Symptomatic Sarcoidosis Treated with Acthar^® Gel: Insights from a Physician-Reported Chart Review

Real-world data on evolving treatment patterns of Acthar Gel, a Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy for patients with symptomatic sarcoidosis, have remained limited. This study described the characteristics of patients with symptomatic sarcoidosis treated with Acthar Gel, medication utilization patterns, and physicians' assessments of the effects of Acthar Gel on patients' health status.

A prospectively designed medical chart review study with a predefined protocol and analysis plan was conducted in November 2024, with data abstracted from patient records between April 2022 and November 2024. Eligible patients were aged ≥ 18 years, had symptomatic sarcoidosis, and had received Acthar Gel within ≤ 24 months.

On average, patients with symptomatic sarcoidosis were 47 years old; most were men (56%, 22/39) and African American (46%, 18/39). Common comorbidities included chronic joint disease, hypertension, and arthritis/osteoarthritis. Before receiving Acthar Gel, physicians reported that 56% (22/39) of patients had a fair-to-poor health status (average rating 3.4/5, where 1 = excellent and 5 = poor). Frequent symptoms were fatigue, joint pain, and muscle aches or weakness. Before initiating Acthar Gel, most patients with symptomatic sarcoidosis had previously received treatment with corticosteroids (82%, 32/39), immunosuppressive drugs (51%, 20/39), and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (51%, 20/39). Based on physician assessment, 92% (36/39) of patients experienced improved health after Acthar Gel treatment. Improvements included reduced overall symptoms (69%, 25/36), improved physical function (47%, 17/36), decreased pain (44%, 16/36), improved fatigue (36%, 13/36), reduced corticosteroid use (33%, 12/36), improved lung functioning (25%, 9/36), and improved strength (22%, 8/36).

Based on this chart review, Acthar Gel may represent a potential treatment option for selected patients with symptomatic sarcoidosis. In this study, among patients with symptomatic sarcoidosis treated with Acthar Gel, physicians documented reduced overall symptoms, improved physical function, decreased pain, improved fatigue, reduced corticosteroid use, improved lung functioning, and improved strength using prespecified assessments.