Table 1.

Summary of inclusion criteria for the systematic review and meta-analysis

Study design	Phase II or III prospective, randomized controlled trials with at least one treatment arm containing a bDMARD combination therapy or bDMARD monotherapy
Population	Adult patients (≥18 years) meeting the ACR classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis
	Previously treated with MTX or other DMARD
	≤15% of patients previously treated with TNF-α inhibitors
Interventions	Any bDMARD licensed in the EU
	Studies needed to include at least one treatment arm of bDMARD in combination with a DMARD or as a monotherapy
	No restrictions to drug dose or formulation, mode of delivery or duration of treatment
Comparators	DMARD (combination analysis) or placebo (monotherapy analysis)
	Other comparators where needed to connect the network or preserve randomization
Outcomes	ACR 20/50/70 response rate to treatment (defined as a 20%, 50%, or 70% improvement in the ACR score)
	Outcome reported between 12 and 30 weeks of follow-up
Language of publication	Non-English full-text papers were excluded, but English abstracts of non-English full-text papers were included

Abbreviations: ACR, American College of Rheumatology; bDMARD, biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; MTX, methotrexate; TNF-α, tumour necrosis factor-alpha.