Conventional therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) treatment include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitors, corticosteroids and disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). These therapies are often partially effective.
For those patients, where conventional therapies have failed to alleviate their symptoms, Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNFis) is often prescribed to treat the pain and inflammation associated with RA. The main problem with TNFi and other advanced therapies in RA is retention. At least ¼ of patients stop treatment within a year and another ⅕ to ¼ in the second year, mostly due to secondary loss of efficacy.
Another advanced therapy, the Janus kinase inhibitor (JAK) has demonstrated similar efficacy to TNFi treatment in RA. This trial will determine if using a different class of treatment (small molecule, oral drug, JAK kinase inhibitor) will have a better retention than a TNFi (using the most commonly prescribed TNFi for RA in Canada).
