Baricitinib, sold under the brand name Olumiant among others, is an immunomodulatory medication used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, alopecia areata, and COVID-19. It acts as an inhibitor of janus kinase (JAK), blocking the subtypes JAK1 and JAK2.
Read the full article on WikipediaSevere active rheumatoid arthritis Clinical criteria: Treatment Phase: Initial treatment - Initial 1 (new patient) Treatment criteria: Must be treated by a rheumatologist; OR Must be treated by a clinical immunologist with expertise in the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Patient must not have received PBS-subsidised treatment with a biological medicine for this condition, AND Patient must have failed, in the 24 months immediately prior to the date of the application, to achieve an adequate response to a trial of at least 6 months of intensive treatment with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) which must include at least 3 months continuous treatment with at least 2 DMARDs, one of which must be methotrexate at a dose of at least 20 mg weekly plus one of the following: (i) hydroxychloroquine at a dose of at least 200 mg daily; (ii) leflunomide at a dose of at least 10 mg daily; (iii) sulfasalazine at a dose of at least 2 g daily; OR Patient must have failed, in the 24 months immediately prior to the date of the application, to achieve an adequate response to a trial of at least 6 months of intensive treatment with DMARDs which, if methotrexate is contraindicated according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)-approved Product Information/cannot be tolerated at a 20 mg weekly dose, must include at least 3 months continuous treatment with at least 2 of the following DMARDs: (i) hydroxychloroquine at a dose of at least 200 mg daily; (ii) leflunomide at a dose of at least 10 mg daily; (iii) sulfasalazine at a dose of at least 2 g daily; OR Patient must have failed, in the 24 months immediately prior to the date of the application, to achieve an adequate response to a trial of at least 3 months of continuous treatment with a DMARD where 2 of: (i) hydroxychloroquine, (ii) leflunomide, (iii) sulfasalazine, are contraindicated according to the relevant TGA-approved Product Information/cannot be tolerated at the doses specified above in addition to having a contraindication or intolerance to methotrexate: the remaining tolerated DMARD must be trialled at a minimum dose as mentioned above; OR Patient must have a contraindication/severe intolerance to each of: (i) methotrexate, (ii) hydroxychloroquine, (iii) leflunomide, (iv) sulfasalazine; in such cases, provide details for each of the contraindications/severe intolerances claimed in the authority application, AND Patient must not receive more than 16 weeks of treatment under this restriction. Population criteria: Patient must be at least 18 years of age. If methotrexate is contraindicated according to the TGA-approved product information or cannot be tolerated at a 20 mg weekly dose, the application must include details of the contraindication or intolerance including severity to methotrexate. The maximum tolerated dose of methotrexate must be documented in the application, if applicable. The application must include details of the DMARDs trialled, their doses and duration of treatment, and all relevant contraindications and/or intolerances including severity. The requirement to trial at least 2 DMARDs for periods of at least 3 months each can be met using single agents sequentially or by using one or more combinations of DMARDs, however the time on treatment must be at least 6 months. If the requirement to trial 6 months of intensive DMARD therapy with at least 2 DMARDs cannot be met because of contraindications and/or intolerances of a severity necessitating permanent treatment withdrawal to all of the DMARDs specified above, details of the contraindication or intolerance including severity and dose for each DMARD must be provided in the authority application. The following criteria indicate failure to achieve an adequate response to DMARD treatment and must be demonstrated in all patients at the time of the initial application: an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) greater than 25 mm per hour and/or a C-reactive protein (CRP) level greater than 15 mg per L; AND either (a) a total active joint count of at least 20 active (swollen and tender) joints; or (b) at least 4 active joints from the following list of major joints: (i) elbow, wrist, knee and/or ankle (assessed as swollen and tender); and/or (ii) shoulder and/or hip (assessed as pain in passive movement and restriction of passive movement, where pain and limitation of movement are due to active disease and not irreversible damage such as joint destruction or bony overgrowth). The joint count and ESR and/or CRP must be determined at the completion of the 6 month intensive DMARD trial, but prior to ceasing DMARD therapy. All measures must be no more than 4 weeks old at the time of initial application. If the requirement to demonstrate an elevated ESR or CRP cannot be met, the application must state the reasons why this criterion cannot be satisfied. Treatment with prednisolone dosed at 7.5 mg or higher daily (or equivalent) or a parenteral steroid within the past month (intramuscular or intravenous methylprednisolone or equivalent) is an acceptable reason. Where the baseline active joint count is based on total active joints (i.e. more than 20 active joints), response must be determined according to the reduction in the total number of active joints. Where the baseline is determined on total number of major joints, the response must be determined on the total number of major joints. If only an ESR or CRP level is provided with the initial application, the same marker must be used to determine response. The authority application must be made in writing and must include: (1) details of the proposed prescription; and (2) a completed authority application form relevant to the indication and treatment phase (the latest version is located on the website specified in the Administrative Advice). An assessment of a patient's response to this initial course of treatment must be conducted following a minimum of 12 weeks of therapy and no later than 4 weeks prior the completion of this course of treatment. Where a response assessment is not conducted within the required timeframe, the patient will be deemed to have failed to respond to treatment with this drug, unless the patient has experienced a serious adverse reaction of a severity resulting in the necessity for permanent withdrawal of treatment. If a patient fails to demonstrate a response to treatment with this drug under this restriction they will not be eligible to receive further PBS-subsidised treatment with this drug for this condition.
“Baricitinib is a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that reversibly inhibits Janus kinase 1 with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 5.9 nM and Janus kinase 2 with an IC50 of 5.7 nM. Tyrosine kinase 2, which belongs to the same enzyme family, is affected less (IC50 = 53 nM), and Janus kinase 3 far less (IC50 > 400 nM). Via a signal transduction pathway involving STAT proteins, this ultimately modulates gene expression in immunological cells.”
“12.5 hours”
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