Abstract
Objectives
To assess the 2-year impact of bimekizumab on health status, work productivity, and indirect cost savings in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Methods
BE OPTIMAL (NCT03895203; biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug [bDMARD]-naïve) and BE COMPLETE (NCT03896581; tumor necrosis factor inhibitor inadequate response/intolerance [TNFi-IR]) assessed subcutaneous bimekizumab 160 mg every 4 weeks. BE OPTIMAL Week52/BE COMPLETE Week16 completers could enter BE VITAL (NCT04009499; open-label extension), where all patients received bimekizumab.
Outcomes reported for placebo- and bimekizumab-randomized patients to Year2: changes in health status (EQ-5D-3L) and work productivity (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire—Specific Health Problem v2.0 [WPAI-SHP]), associations between disease control criteria and WPAI-SHP, annualized indirect cost savings (estimated by multiplying 2022 average wages by improvements in overall work impairment). Missing data imputed using multiple (continuous) or non-responder (binary) imputation.
Results
Among 712 bDMARD-naïve and 400 TNFi-IR patients, improvements from baseline in mean EQ-5D-3L visual analogue scale scores were sustained to Year2, with scores improving by 26.4–35.0%. Minimal clinically important difference in overall work impairment was achieved by 51.1%-64.8% patients at Year1, and this was largely sustained to Year2 (44.3%-51.6%). Greatest work productivity improvements were observed in patients who achieved stringent disease control across both musculoskeletal and skin domains. In Europe, indirect cost savings (USD) at Year1 (7,965–11,517) were sustained to Year2 (7,789–12,018); trends were similar in the United States and Japan.
Conclusion
Bimekizumab treatment resulted in sustained improvements in health status and work productivity to Year2, with substantial potential for long-term indirect cost savings, regardless of prior TNFi experience.
To assess the 2-year impact of bimekizumab on health status, work productivity, and indirect cost savings in patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Methods
BE OPTIMAL (NCT03895203; biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug [bDMARD]-naïve) and BE COMPLETE (NCT03896581; tumor necrosis factor inhibitor inadequate response/intolerance [TNFi-IR]) assessed subcutaneous bimekizumab 160 mg every 4 weeks. BE OPTIMAL Week52/BE COMPLETE Week16 completers could enter BE VITAL (NCT04009499; open-label extension), where all patients received bimekizumab.
Outcomes reported for placebo- and bimekizumab-randomized patients to Year2: changes in health status (EQ-5D-3L) and work productivity (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire—Specific Health Problem v2.0 [WPAI-SHP]), associations between disease control criteria and WPAI-SHP, annualized indirect cost savings (estimated by multiplying 2022 average wages by improvements in overall work impairment). Missing data imputed using multiple (continuous) or non-responder (binary) imputation.
Results
Among 712 bDMARD-naïve and 400 TNFi-IR patients, improvements from baseline in mean EQ-5D-3L visual analogue scale scores were sustained to Year2, with scores improving by 26.4–35.0%. Minimal clinically important difference in overall work impairment was achieved by 51.1%-64.8% patients at Year1, and this was largely sustained to Year2 (44.3%-51.6%). Greatest work productivity improvements were observed in patients who achieved stringent disease control across both musculoskeletal and skin domains. In Europe, indirect cost savings (USD) at Year1 (7,965–11,517) were sustained to Year2 (7,789–12,018); trends were similar in the United States and Japan.
Conclusion
Bimekizumab treatment resulted in sustained improvements in health status and work productivity to Year2, with substantial potential for long-term indirect cost savings, regardless of prior TNFi experience.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Rheumatology Advances in Practice |
| Early online date | 25 Jan 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 25 Jan 2026 |
Data Availability Statement
Data from this manuscript may be requested by qualified researchers six months after product approval in the US and/or Europe, or global development is discontinued, and 18 months after trial completion. Investigators may request access to anonymized individual patient data and redacted study documents which may include: raw datasets, analysis-ready datasets, study protocol, blank case report form, annotated case report form, statistical analysis plan, dataset specifications and clinical study report. Prior to use of the data, proposals need to be approved by an independent review panel at https://vivli.org/and a signed data sharing agreement will need to be executed. All documents are available inEnglish only, for a prespecified time, typically 12 months, on a password protected portal.
Funding
These studies were funded by UCB. Support for third-party writing assistance for this article, provided by Lilit Ghazaryan, MBiol, and Aditi Mehta, MSc, both of Costello Medical, London, UK, was funded by UCB in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP 2022) guidelines.
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