Upadacitinib (Rinvoq, AbbVie) is now available in the U.S. as a tablet or an oral solution for the treatment of pediatric patients aged 2 and older with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) as well as polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA), provided patients have had an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, AbbVie reports.
Rinvoq LQ is the new weight-based oral solution or pediatric populations.
“Pediatric patients with pJIA and PsA can be severely limited in their ability to complete daily physical tasks and participate in everyday activities. Understanding their needs today and knowing the likelihood of disease in adulthood underscores the need for additional treatment options,” says Aarat Patel, MD, an adult and pediatric rheumatologist at Bon Secours Rheumatology Center of St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, VA , in a news release. “Having a treatment option available for patients who do not respond well to a TNFi addresses a need for the healthcare community, patients, and their families.”
The approvals of Rinvoq and Rinvoq LQ oral solution are supported by evidence from well-controlled studies of Rinvoq in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and PsA, pharmacokinetic data from adult patients with RA and PsA, as well as 51 pediatric patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis with active polyarthritis, in addition to safety data from 83 pediatric patients two to less than 18 years of age with juvenile idiopathic arthritis with active polyarthritis. Upadacitinib plasma exposures in pediatric patients with pJIA and PsA at the recommended dosage are predicted to be comparable to those observed in adults with RA and PsA based on population pharmacokinetic modeling and simulation.
