A Study to Compare Upadacitinib (ABT-494) Monotherapy to Methotrexate (MTX) Monotherapy in Adults With Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Who Have Not Previously Taken Methotrexate

Summary

The objectives of Period 1 were the following: * To compare the safety and efficacy of upadacitinib 7.5 mg once daily (QD) monotherapy (for participants in Japan only), 15 mg QD monotherapy, and 30 mg QD monotherapy versus weekly methotrexate monotherapy for the treatment of signs and symptoms of RA in methotrexate-naïve adults with moderately to severely active RA; * To compare the efficacy of upadacitinib 15 mg QD monotherapy and upadacitinib 30 mg QD monotherapy versus weekly methotrexate monotherapy for prevention of structural progression in methotrexate-naïve adults with moderately to severely active RA. The objective of Period 2 is to evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of upadacitinib 7.5 mg QD (for participants in Japan only), 15 mg QD, and 30 mg QD in adults with RA who have completed Period 1.

Timeline

Start

2016-02-23

Primary completion

2018-03-15

Completion

2022-11-10

Publications

• Background van Vollenhoven R, Takeuchi T, Pangan AL, Friedman A, Mohamed MF, Chen S, Rischmueller M, Blanco R, Xavier RM, Strand V. Efficacy and Safety of Upadacitinib Monotherapy in Methotrexate-Naive Patients With Moderately-to-Severely Active Rheumatoid Arthritis (SELECT-EARLY): A Multicenter, Multi-Country, Randomized, Double-Blind, Active Comparator-Controlled Trial. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Oct;72(10):1607-1620. doi: 10.1002/art.41384. Epub 2020 Sep 8.
• Burmester GR, Deodhar A, Irvine AD, Panaccione R, Winthrop KL, Vleugels RA, Levy G, Suravaram S, Palac H, Wegrzyn L, Ford S, Meerwein S, Guttman-Yassky E. Safety Profile of Upadacitinib: Descriptive Analysis in Over 27,000 Patient-Years Across Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Axial Spondyloarthritis, Atopic Dermatitis, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Adv Ther. 2025 Oct;42(10):5215-5237. doi: 10.1007/s12325-025-03328-y. Epub 2025 Aug 28.
• van Vollenhoven R, Strand V, Takeuchi T, Chavez N, Walter PM, Singhal A, Swierkot J, Khan N, Bu X, Li Y, Penn SK, Camp HS, Aelion J. Upadacitinib monotherapy versus methotrexate monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: efficacy and safety through 5 years in the SELECT-EARLY randomized controlled trial. Arthritis Res Ther. 2024 Jul 29;26(1):143. doi: 10.1186/s13075-024-03358-x.
• Rubbert-Roth A, Kakehasi AM, Takeuchi T, Schmalzing M, Palac H, Coombs D, Liu J, Anyanwu SI, Lippe R, Curtis JR. Malignancy in the Upadacitinib Clinical Trials for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, and Non-radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis. Rheumatol Ther. 2024 Feb;11(1):97-112. doi: 10.1007/s40744-023-00621-6. Epub 2023 Nov 20.
• Charles-Schoeman C, Choy E, McInnes IB, Mysler E, Nash P, Yamaoka K, Lippe R, Khan N, Shmagel AK, Palac H, Suboticki J, Curtis JR. MACE and VTE across upadacitinib clinical trial programmes in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. RMD Open. 2023 Nov;9(4):e003392. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2023-003392.
• Fleischmann R, Curtis JR, Charles-Schoeman C, Mysler E, Yamaoka K, Richez C, Palac H, Dilley D, Liu J, Strengholt S, Burmester G. Safety profile of upadacitinib in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease: integrated post hoc analysis of the SELECT phase III rheumatoid arthritis clinical programme. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023 Sep;82(9):1130-1141. doi: 10.1136/ard-2023-223916. Epub 2023 Jun 12.
• Burmester GR, Cohen SB, Winthrop KL, Nash P, Irvine AD, Deodhar A, Mysler E, Tanaka Y, Liu J, Lacerda AP, Palac H, Shaw T, Mease PJ, Guttman-Yassky E. Safety profile of upadacitinib over 15 000 patient-years across rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and atopic dermatitis. RMD Open. 2023 Feb;9(1):e002735. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002735.
• Kakehasi AM, Radominski SC, Baravalle MD, Palazuelos FCI, Garcia-Garcia C, Arruda MS, Curi M, Liu J, Qiao M, Velez-Sanchez P, Vargas JI. Safety of upadacitinib in Latin American patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an integrated safety analysis of the SELECT phase 3 clinical program. Clin Rheumatol. 2023 May;42(5):1249-1258. doi: 10.1007/s10067-023-06513-y. Epub 2023 Jan 30.
• Bergman M, Buch MH, Tanaka Y, Citera G, Bahlas S, Wong E, Song Y, Zueger P, Ali M, Strand V. Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3) in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Long-Term Upadacitinib Therapy in Five Randomized Controlled Trials. Rheumatol Ther. 2022 Dec;9(6):1517-1529. doi: 10.1007/s40744-022-00483-4. Epub 2022 Sep 20.
• Peterfy CG, Strand V, Friedman A, Hall S, Mysler E, Durez P, Baraliakos X, Enejosa JV, Shaw T, Li Y, Chen S, Song IH. Inhibition of structural joint damage progression with upadacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis: 1-year outcomes from the SELECT phase 3 program. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 Aug 3;61(8):3246-3256. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab861.
• Yamaoka K, Tanaka Y, Kameda H, Khan N, Sasaki N, Harigai M, Song Y, Zhang Y, Takeuchi T. The Safety Profile of Upadacitinib in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Japan. Drug Saf. 2021 Jun;44(6):711-722. doi: 10.1007/s40264-021-01067-x. Epub 2021 May 27.
• Strand V, Tundia N, Wells A, Buch MH, Radominski SC, Camp HS, Friedman A, Suboticki JL, Dunlap K, Goldschmidt D, Bergman M. Upadacitinib monotherapy improves patient-reported outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis: results from SELECT-EARLY and SELECT-MONOTHERAPY. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Jul 1;60(7):3209-3221. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa770.
• Cohen SB, van Vollenhoven RF, Winthrop KL, Zerbini CAF, Tanaka Y, Bessette L, Zhang Y, Khan N, Hendrickson B, Enejosa JV, Burmester GR. Safety profile of upadacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis: integrated analysis from the SELECT phase III clinical programme. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Mar;80(3):304-311. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218510. Epub 2020 Oct 28.
• Nader A, Mohamed MF, Winzenborg I, Doelger E, Noertersheuser P, Pangan AL, Othman AA. Exposure-Response Analyses of Upadacitinib Efficacy and Safety in Phase II and III Studies to Support Benefit-Risk Assessment in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020 Apr;107(4):994-1003. doi: 10.1002/cpt.1671. Epub 2019 Nov 30.

Drugs

Indications