What the trial was testing
The FINCH 2 enrolled 449 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The study was sponsored by Gilead Sciences and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
66% of patients taking filgotinib 200 mg had significant symptom improvement at 12 weeks.
JAMA · 2019 · NCT02873936
These findings — that had significant symptom improvement with filgotinib 200 mg versus 31% with placebo — were published in the JAMA and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 449 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Filgotinib is FDA-approved for rheumatoid arthritis under the brand name Jyseleca. It's an option for people whose symptoms haven't improved with other treatments. This trial showed it helped reduce joint pain and swelling in people who had already tried other medications. Talk to your rheumatologist about whether filgotinib might work for you.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open rheumatoid arthritis trials
Ketogenic and Carnivore (Lion) Diets for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis
This study is a randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating whether two therapeutic dietary approaches - a ketogenic diet and a carnivore (lion) diet - can improve quality of life, reduce symptoms, and influence measures of disease activity in adults with inflammatory bowel disease \[ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease\] (IBD) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Participants will be randomized into one of three groups: 1) Ketogenic Diet, 2) Carnivore (Lion) Diet or 3) Wait-List Control. Participants randomized to a dietary group (ketogenic diet or carnivore diet) will be provided guidance on their specific dietary therapy and answer questions about their symptoms and quality of life at different intervals over a 24 week period. Participants will also complete laboratory testing at different intervals to assess for changes in nutritional status, cardiometabolic health and markers of immune activation and inflammation. Participants initially placed on the wait-list group will be asked similar questions about their symptoms and quality of life and complete the same laboratory testing as participants in a dietary group. Participants on the wait list will then be compared to participants following a specific dietary pattern to assess for any differences between the 2 groups. After 12 weeks, participants on the wait list will be randomized to a dietary group (ketogenic diet or carnivore diet) and followed in a similar fashion for an additional 12 week period.
A Long-Term Follow-Up Observational Study to Evaluate Safety in Subjects Who Have Received a Gene-Modified Regulatory T Cell (Treg) Therapeutic
To assess the emergence, type, severity, and potential causality of delayed adverse events following administration of a gene-modified Treg therapeutic.