Polymyalgia rheumatica causes pain and stiffness in the shoulders, neck, and hips, typically in people over 50. Corticosteroids like prednisone relieve symptoms quickly, but many people need treatment for one to two years and struggle with side effects during the slow taper off steroids.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing steroid-sparing drugs that could reduce the months or years people spend on prednisone, including tocilizumab (an IL-6 blocker already approved for giant cell arteritis), JAK inhibitors, and methotrexate. Researchers are also studying biomarkers that might predict who needs longer treatment and whether imaging can guide therapy decisions.
Tocilizumab studies
This IL-6 blocker allows faster prednisone tapering in some people and is being studied to see if it can prevent relapses. Several trials are testing whether it should become standard treatment alongside steroids.
JAK inhibitors
Drugs in this class, which calm multiple inflammatory pathways, are being tested as alternatives to long-term steroids. Early studies suggest they may control symptoms while allowing lower steroid doses.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on how recently symptoms started, whether you've already begun steroids, current inflammation markers, and whether you have giant cell arteritis alongside polymyalgia rheumatica.
What types of trials are currently open
- Steroid-sparing trials — Testing drugs that allow people to use lower doses of prednisone or stop steroids sooner. Most compare adding a new drug to prednisone alone.
- Relapse prevention trials — Testing whether drugs like tocilizumab or methotrexate can prevent symptom flares when prednisone is tapered. Some follow people for a year or more.
- Imaging studies — Using ultrasound or MRI to see if inflammation patterns can predict who needs longer treatment or help confirm diagnosis in unclear cases.
- Biomarker studies — Looking for blood tests or genetic markers that might show who will respond to specific treatments or need longer courses of therapy.
Recently added Polymyalgia Rheumatica trials
Share your health data to improve giant cell arteritis monitoring
Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) is a vasculitis of medium- and large-sized arteries in older adults that may lead to serious vascular complications, including permanent vision loss and aortic aneurysm formation. Glucocorticoids are effective, but relapse during tapering is common and poses a major clinical challenge, potentially contributing to prolonged glucocorticoid exposure. Symptoms are often nonspecific and conventional inflammatory markers lack sufficient reliability, particularly in patients treated with drugs targeting the interleukin-6 pathway. Thus, this project aims to evaluate different tools assisting disease activity monitoring and/or predict future relapses and higher treatment requirements. Up to 175 patients with GCA in remission will be enrolled to ensure that 144 participants complete 1 year of follow-up. Participants undergo vascular ultrasonography, including double-blinded assessment at suspected relapse, complete patient-reported outcome measures, and provide biobank blood samples.
Take a new immune therapy with a steroid taper for polymyalgia rheumatica
This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, Phase 4, 3-group study to assess whether treatment with sarilumab at either 150 mg q2w (once every two weeks) or at 200 mg q2w, each given with a 52-week prednisone taper, is superior to placebo given with a 52-week prednisone taper in participants with early polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and to determine the safety and tolerability of the sarilumab regimens. The study will consist of the following visits: Visit 1 (D-42 to D-1): Screening, Visit 2 (D1): Baseline, randomization, first study drug administration, Visit 3 to 12 (Week 2 to Week 52): Treatment period, Visit 13 (Week 52): End of Treatment (EOT) visit, Visit 14 (Week 58): End of Study (EOS) visit.
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