Efficacy and safety of selective JAK 1 inhibitor filgotinib in active rheumatoid arthritis patients with inadequate response to methotrexate: comparative study with filgotinib and tocilizumab examined by clinical index as well as musculoskeletal ultrasound assessment (TRANSFORM study): study protocol for a randomized, open-label, parallel-group, multicenter, and non-inferiority clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Administration of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs has dramatically improved even the clinical outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to methotrexate (MTX). Dysregulation of JAK-STAT pathways via overproduction of cytokines, such as interleukin-6, is involved in the pathogenesis of RA. Filgotinib is a selective JAK1 inhibitor pending approval for use in RA. By inhibition of the JAK-STAT pathway, filgotinib is effective in suppressing disease activity and preventing the progression of joint destruction. Similarly, interleukin-6 inhibitors such as tocilizumab also inhibit the JAK-STAT pathways by inhibition of interleukin-6 signaling. We present the protocol for a study that will evaluate whether the effectiveness of filgotinib monotherapy is non-inferior to that of tocilizumab monotherapy in RA patients with an inadequate response to MTX. METHODS: This study is an interventional, multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, and non-inferiority clinical trial with a 52-week follow-up. Study participants will be 400 RA patients with at least moderate disease activity during treatment with MTX. Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to administer filgotinib monotherapy or subcutaneous tocilizumab monotherapy switched from MTX. We will evaluate disease activity by measuring clinical disease activity indices and by using musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS). The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients who achieve an American College of Rheumatology 50 response at week 12. Secondary endpoints are changes from baseline in the MSUS scores. We will also comprehensively analyze serum levels of multiple biomarkers, such as cytokines and chemokines. DISCUSSION: The study results are expected to show the non-inferiority of the effectiveness of filgotinib monotherapy to that of tocilizumab monotherapy in RA patients with inadequate response to MTX. The strength of this study is its prospective evaluation of therapeutic efficacy using not only clinical disease activity indices, but also MSUS, which accurately and objectively evaluates disease activity at the joint level among patients drawn from multiple centers with a standardized evaluation by MSUS. We will evaluate the effectiveness of both drugs by integrating multilateral assessments—clinical disease activity indices, MSUS findings, and serum biomarkers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (https://jrct.niph.go.jp) jRCTs071200107. Registered on March 3, 2021. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05090410. Registered on October 22, 2021. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13063-023-07176-5.