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Background: Bimekizumab is a monoclonal IgG1 antibody that selectively inhibits interleukin (IL)-17F and IL-17A. This study compared the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab with placebo over 16 weeks in patients with active psoriatic arthritis and previous inadequate response or intolerance to tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα) inhibitors. Methods: BE COMPLETE was a phase 3, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted across 92 sites (including hospitals, clinics, and research centres) in 11 countries (Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, the UK, and the USA). Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older with adult-onset psoriatic arthritis (meeting the Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis for at least 6 months before screening) with a history of inadequate response or intolerance to treatment with one or two TNFα inhibitors for either psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis. We stratified patients with active psoriatic arthritis by region and previous TNFα inhibitor use. Patients were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive subcutaneous bimekizumab 160 mg every 4 weeks or placebo by an interactive-voice and web-response system on the basis of a predetermined randomisation schedule. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with 50% or greater improvement in American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR50) at week 16 (non-responder imputation). Efficacy analyses were done in the randomised population. The safety analysis set comprised patients who received one or more doses of study treatment. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03896581, and is completed. Findings: Between March 28, 2019, and Feb 14, 2022, 556 patients were screened and 400 patients were randomly assigned to bimekizumab 160 mg every 4 weeks (n=267) or placebo (n=133). The primary and all hierarchical secondary endpoints were met at week 16. 116 (43%) of 267 patients receiving bimekizumab reached ACR50, compared with nine (7%) of 133 patients receiving placebo (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 11·1 [95% CI 5·4–23·0], p Interpretation: Bimekizumab treatment led to superior improvements in joint and skin efficacy outcomes at week 16 compared with placebo in patients with psoriatic arthritis and inadequate response or intolerance to TNFα inhibitors. The safety profile of bimekizumab was consistent with previous phase 3 studies in patients with plaque psoriasis, and studies of IL-17A inhibitors.

Objectives: Bimekizumab (BKZ) is a monoclonal IgG1 antibody that selectively inhibits interleukin (IL)‑17F in addition to IL‑17A. BKZ treatment has demonstrated superior efficacy versus placebo (PBO) at Week 16 in biologic disease‑modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)‑naïve patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Here, we report longer‑term efficacy and safety to Week 52. Methods: BE OPTIMAL (NCT03895203) comprised a 16‑week, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled period, then 36 weeks treatment‑blind. Patients were randomised 3:2:1 to subcutaneous BKZ 160 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W), PBO with switch to BKZ at Week 16, or reference arm (adalimumab [ADA] 40 mg Q2W). Efficacy outcomes included the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response criteria 20/50/70, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75/90/100 in patients with baseline psoriasis affecting ≥3% body surface area, and minimal disease activity (MDA); non‑responder imputation. Results: ACR20/50/70, PASI75/90/100 and MDA responses were sustained with BKZ to Week 52, consistent with results observed at Week 16. Patients who switched to BKZ at Week 16 demonstrated improvements in efficacy with similar results to BKZ‑randomised patients by Week 52. To Week 52, 555/702 (79.1%) patients had ≥1 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) during BKZ treatment; 113/140 (80.7%) on ADA. On BKZ, 46 (6.6%) patients had serious TEAEs and 1 death (0.1%) occurred. 54 (7.7%) Candida infections occurred during BKZ treatment and 1 (0.7%) during ADA; all cases were localised and non‑serious. Conclusions: The efficacy of bimekizumab in bDMARD-naive patients with PsA was sustained from Week 16 to Week 52. BKZ was well tolerated with no new safety signals observed.

Kshitis Chandra Baral, Rajiv Bajracharya, Sang Hoon Lee, Hyo-Kyung Han BK21 FOUR Team and Integrated Research Institute for Drug Development, College of Pharmacy, Dongguk University-Seoul, Goyang, 10326, KoreaCorrespondence: Hyo-Kyung HanBK21 FOUR Team, College of Pharmacy, Dongguk University-Seoul, Dongguk-ro-32, Ilsan-Donggu, Goyang, 10326, KoreaTel +82-31-961-5217Fax +82-31-961-5206Email hkhan@dongguk.eduAbstract: Probiotics have demonstrated their high potential to treat and/or prevent various diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammatory diseases. Probiotics are also effective against multidrug-resistant pathogens and help maintain a balanced gut microbiota ecosystem. Accordingly, the global market of probiotics is growing rapidly, and research efforts to develop probiotics into therapeutic adjuvants are gaining momentum. However, because probiotics are living microorganisms, many biological and biopharmaceutical barriers limit their clinical application. Probiotics may lose their activity in the harsh gastric conditions of the stomach or in the presence of bile salts. Moreover, they easily lose their viability under thermal or oxidative stress during their preparation and storage. Therefore, stable formulations of probiotics are required to overcome the various physicochemical, biopharmaceutical, and biological barriers and to maximize their therapeutic effectiveness and clinical applicability. This review provides an overview of the pharmaceutical applications of probiotics and covers recent formulation approaches to optimize the delivery of probiotics with particular emphasis on various dosage forms and formulation technologies.Keywords: probiotic, therapeutic adjuvant, formulation, drug delivery system, gut microbiota