Bristol-Myers Squibb publishes positive data from Orencia trial

Bristol-Myers Squibb has published positive results from a phase IIIb clinical trial comparing the efficacy of Orencia to Abbott's Humira among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

The Ample study was a head-to-head trial comparing the subcutaneous formulation of Orencia (Orencia SC) against Humira among 646 biologic-naive patients with moderate to severe RA, with both drugs administered on a background of methotrexate.

It was found that Bristol-Myers Squibb's drug was able to deliver comparable rates of efficacy to Humira after one year, thus meeting the primary endpoint of the trial.

Dr Desiree van der Heijde, professor of rheumatology at the Leiden University Medical Center, said: "Ample is the first head-to-head study between two biologics which incorporates radiographic progression endpoints and provides important data on erosions and joint space narrowing in patients using Orencia SC and Humira."

Earlier this week, Bristol-Myers Squibb also published clinical trial data for its organ rejection prevention therapy Nujolix, demonstrating its efficacy over a four-year period.