Efficacy and Safety of Canakinumab in Schnitzler Syndrome

Summary

Schnitzler syndrome is a disabling inflammatory disease, characterized by chronic urticaria, fever, arthralgia, bone pain and gammopathy, which can so far only be effectively treated with anakinra, an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist. However, this drug is not registered for use in Schnitzler syndrome, and it needs to be injected daily, which is uncomfortable and unpractical. Therefore other treatments targeting IL-1 are needed. Canakinumab is a long-acting monoclonal antibody against IL-1β that has been registered for bimonthly use in the rare autoinflammatory disease Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). We hypothesize that it will be effective in Schnitzler syndrome too in view of clinical similarities to CAPS and the targeting of IL-1B, which is also blocked by anakinra (which blocks both IL-1B and IL-1A). This is a 6-month open-label, single treatment arm study of canakinumab 150 or 300 mg (in case of insufficient response to 150 mg) subcutaneous injection once per month in patients with active Schnitzler syndrome, in which efficacy and safety will be assessed.

Timeline

Start

2011-01

Primary completion

2011-05

Completion

2011-12

Publications

• Background de Koning HD, Bodar EJ, van der Meer JW, Simon A; Schnitzler Syndrome Study Group. Schnitzler syndrome: beyond the case reports: review and follow-up of 94 patients with an emphasis on prognosis and treatment. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Dec;37(3):137-48. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2007.04.001. Epub 2007 Jun 21.
• Background de Koning HD, Bodar EJ, Simon A, van der Hilst JC, Netea MG, van der Meer JW. Beneficial response to anakinra and thalidomide in Schnitzler's syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 2006 Apr;65(4):542-4. doi: 10.1136/ard.2005.045245. Epub 2005 Aug 11.
• Background Ryan JG, de Koning HD, Beck LA, Booty MG, Kastner DL, Simon A. IL-1 blockade in Schnitzler syndrome: ex vivo findings correlate with clinical remission. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008 Jan;121(1):260-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2007.09.021. Epub 2007 Oct 22. No abstract available.
• Background Schuster C, Kranke B, Aberer E, Arbab E, Sturm G, Aberer W. Schnitzler syndrome: response to anakinra in two cases and a review of the literature. Int J Dermatol. 2009 Nov;48(11):1190-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.04151.x.
• Background Martinez-Taboada VM, Fontalba A, Blanco R, Fernandez-Luna JL. Successful treatment of refractory Schnitzler syndrome with anakinra: comment on the article by Hawkins et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Jul;52(7):2226-7. doi: 10.1002/art.21101. No abstract available.
• Background Lipsker D, Veran Y, Grunenberger F, Cribier B, Heid E, Grosshans E. The Schnitzler syndrome. Four new cases and review of the literature. Medicine (Baltimore). 2001 Jan;80(1):37-44. doi: 10.1097/00005792-200101000-00004.
• Background Lachmann HJ, Kone-Paut I, Kuemmerle-Deschner JB, Leslie KS, Hachulla E, Quartier P, Gitton X, Widmer A, Patel N, Hawkins PN; Canakinumab in CAPS Study Group. Use of canakinumab in the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jun 4;360(23):2416-25. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0810787.
• Background Lachmann HJ, Lowe P, Felix SD, Rordorf C, Leslie K, Madhoo S, Wittkowski H, Bek S, Hartmann N, Bosset S, Hawkins PN, Jung T. In vivo regulation of interleukin 1beta in patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes. J Exp Med. 2009 May 11;206(5):1029-36. doi: 10.1084/jem.20082481. Epub 2009 Apr 13.
• de Koning HD, Schalkwijk J, van der Ven-Jongekrijg J, Stoffels M, van der Meer JW, Simon A. Sustained efficacy of the monoclonal anti-interleukin-1 beta antibody canakinumab in a 9-month trial in Schnitzler's syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 2013 Oct;72(10):1634-8. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-202192. Epub 2012 Oct 19.

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