THURSDAY, July 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), bimekizumab, a dual interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F inhibitor, is well tolerated over three years, according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.
Xenofon Baraliakos, M.D., from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany, and colleagues reported the long-term safety and efficacy of bimekizumab across the full disease spectrum of axSpA over three years. A total of 574 patients completing week 52 of the BE MOBILE 1 and BE MOBILE 2 phase 3 studies entered an open-label extension and continued receiving bimekizumab 160 mg every four weeks.
The researchers found that 90.4 percent of patients had one or more treatment-emergent adverse events. The exposure-adjusted incidence rate (EAIR)/100 person-years was 9.4 for fungal infection (mostly Candida infections, 5.3) and 0.5 and 1.5 for inflammatory bowel disease and uveitis, respectively. There were no major adverse cardiovascular events or deaths. In the third year, EAIRs, including for Candida infections, were generally lowest. Two-year efficacy with bimekizumab was sustained through three years. Overall, 57.0 percent achieved Axial Spondyloarthritis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) low disease activity (<2.1) at week 164, including 28.7 percent who achieved ASDAS inactive disease (<1.3). Sustained improvements in the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores resulted from bimekizumab treatment, and there was sustained control of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) inflammation to week 164.
"Patients across the full disease spectrum of axSpA demonstrated sustained clinical efficacy with dual IL-17A and IL-17F inhibition, including in remission and HRQoL outcomes over three years, underpinned by sustained suppression of MRI inflammation," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
