Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group

Baseline clinical characteristics did not define patient groups with greater or lesser cardiovascular benefits when treated with canakinumab. However, trial participants allocated to canakinumab who achieved hsCRP concentrations less than 2 mg/L had a 25% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events (multivariable adjusted hazard ratio [HR^adj]=0·75, 95% CI 0·66–0·85, p<0·0001), whereas no significant benefit was observed among those with on-treatment hsCRP concentrations of 2 mg/L or above (HR^adj=0·90, 0·79–1·02, p=0·11). For those treated with canakinumab who achieved on-treatment hsCRP concentrations less than 2 mg/L, cardiovascular mortality (HR^adj=0·69, 95% CI 0·56–0·85, p=0·0004) and all-cause mortality (HR^adj=0·69, 0·58–0·81, p<0·0001) were both reduced by 31%, whereas no significant reduction in these endpoints was observed among those treated with canakinumab who achieved hsCRP concentrations of 2 mg/L or above. Similar differential effects were found in analyses of the trial prespecified secondary cardiovascular endpoint (which additionally included hospitalisation for unstable angina requiring unplanned revascularisation) and in sensitivity analyses alternatively based on median reductions in hsCRP, on 50% or greater reductions in hsCRP, on the median percent reduction in hsCRP, in dose-specific analyses, and in analyses using a causal inference approach to estimate the effect of treatment among individuals who would achieve a targeted hsCRP concentration.

The magnitude of hsCRP reduction following a single dose of canakinumab might provide a simple clinical method to identify individuals most likely to accrue the largest benefit from continued treatment. These data further suggest that lower is better for inflammation reduction with canakinumab.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals.