AbbVie announced that it has submitted applications seeking approvals for upadacitinib (RINVOQ®, 15 mg once daily) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of adults with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) with objective signs of inflammation who have responded inadequately to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The applications are supported by the Phase 3 SELECT-AXIS 2 (Study 2) clinical trial. In the SELECT-AXIS 2 trial (Study 2), evaluating the efficacy and safety of upadacitinib in adult patients with nr-axSpA, upadacitinib met its primary and most ranked secondary endpoints.1 Treatment with upadacitinib 15 mg once daily resulted in reductions in signs and symptoms of nr-axSpA, including back pain and inflammation, as well as improvements in physical function and disease activity at week 14 versus placebo.

In addition, AbbVie has requested label enhancements for upadacitinib in the European Union (EU) to include adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who had an inadequate response to biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), based on the results of the Phase 3 SELECT-AXIS 2 clinical trial (Study 1), as well as two-year results of the Phase 2/3 SELECT-AXIS 1 clinical trial. AbbVie also provided these data to the FDA in support of the agency's ongoing review of the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for upadacitinib in AS. The safety data observed in these patients with AS or nr-axSpA were generally consistent with the known safety profile of upadacitinib.

No new safety risks were identified.