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Achievement and Maintenance of Remission with Upadacitinib in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis

Caterina Baldi¹, Eleonora Celletti², Serena Bugatti³

¹UOC Reumatologia, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Viale Bracci 11, 53100, Siena, Italy. catebaldi3@gmail.com.

Rheumatology and Therapy

|April 12, 2026

Abstract

Introduction:

Upadacitinib (UPA) is approved for moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on SELECT trials, but data on real-world effectiveness are limited. UPHOLD is a multicountry study of patients with RA receiving UPA 15 mg.

Methods:

The present interim analysis was based on the Italian cohort performed across 28 centers. Co-primary endpoints were (i) the proportion of patients receiving UPA who achieved DAS28(CRP) remission (< 2.6) at 6 months and (ii) the proportion of patients achieving DAS28(CRP) remission at 6 months who continued to receive UPA and maintained remission (or had no more than a 0.6-point increase in DAS28[CRP]) at 12 months, analyzed by modified non-responder imputation (mNRI) and as observed (AO). Modified full analysis sets (mFAS1 and mFAS2) included patients completing 6 and 12 months, respectively. Safety analysis included reporting of adverse events and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), as exposure-adjusted event rates (EAERs; events per 100 patient-years [E/100PY]).

Results:

Among 270 patients, 74 (27.4%) discontinued by 12 months because of lack of efficacy (13.7%) or adverse events (8.1%). In mFAS1 (N = 168), 50.6% (mNRI) and 62% (AO) achieved DAS28(CRP) remission at 6 months. In mFAS2 (N = 55), 80% (mNRI) and 91.7% (AO) maintained DAS28(CRP) remission at 12 months. CDAI and SDAI remission rates at 12 months were 31.3%. Patients on UPA monotherapy at 12 months showed remission rates of 49.5% (DAS28[CRP]), 27.2% (CDAI), and 27.4% (SDAI). Significant improvements in patient-reported pain and physical function were also observed. A total of 278 TEAEs were reported (80.8 E/100PY), including herpes zoster, liver disorders, and serious infections with EAERs of 2.0, 1.5, and 1.2 E/100PY, respectively.

Conclusion:

UPA 15 mg was observed to effectively treat moderate-to-severe RA in the real-world setting, with ≥ 80% maintaining DAS28(CRP) remission at 12 months, showing a favorable benefit-risk profile.

Trial Registration:

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT04497597.

Keywords:

Effectiveness Real-world Rheumatoid arthritis Safety Upadacitinib

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