Why carry out this study?

Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and there are currently only limited studies in the real-world setting that provide evidence and context for the efficacy of tofacitinib in patients with PsA, which was demonstrated in a clinical setting.

This real-world data analysis assessed demographic and baseline clinical characteristics, as well as treatment persistence/adherence from patients with PsA in the IBM MarketScan™ US Commercial Claims and Encounters database and the Medicare Supplemental database with at least one tofacitinib claim.

What was learned from the study?

The results from this US-based claims analysis showed that patients newly initiated tofacitinib treatment an average of 2 years after PsA diagnosis, with the majority of patients receiving tofacitinib monotherapy, and high levels of tofacitinib persistence and adherence observed 6 months after treatment initiation.

This is one of the first real-world studies specific to tofacitinib for the treatment of PsA in the USA and findings from this study could help provide additional context for associations between tofacitinib treatment patterns and response rates, efficacy, and safety in US clinical settings, potentially offering better quality of care for patients with PsA.