Goflikicept PREVENTS recurrence and MAINTAINS remission in idiopathic recurrent pericarditis patients

It is already known that IRP is a rare autoinflammatory disease. Interleukin (IL)-1α and IL-1β are the pivotal cytokines in the pathophysiology of acute pericarditis. These are involved in its recurrence also.

In the present study, the team created a phase II/III study with a new IL-1 inhibitor—goflikicept in IRP and evaluated its safety and efficacy in treating IRP patients in their 2-centre open-label study.

The study had four periods: screening, run-in, randomized withdrawal, and follow-up.

The study results could be summarised as follows:

• Twenty-two patients were enrolled, and 20 were randomized.
• During the run-in period, results demonstrated a reduction of C-reactive protein level accompanied by a reduction of chest pain and pericardial effusion compared to baseline.
• There was a Recurrence of pericarditis in 9/10 patients in the placebo group.
• Researchers reported no recurrence events in the goflikicept group within 24 weeks following randomization.
• A total of 122 adverse events were reported in 21 patients (95.5%), with no deaths and no new safety signals identified for goflikicept.

They said goflikicept prevents recurrences and maintains IRP remission with a favourable risk-benefit ratio. Goflikicept reduced the risk of recurrence compared with the placebo.

Further reading:

https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.04.046