UCB, a Belgium-based global biopharmaceutical company, announced on Wednesday the first presentation of two-year data from the Phase 3 studies, BE MOBILE 1 and BE MOBILE 2, and the open-label extension, BE MOVING, evaluating bimekizumab, an IL-17A and IL-17F inhibitor, in the treatment of active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) and active radiographic axSpA (r-axSpA).

The impact of bimekizumab treatment on two-year radiographic progression in the spine of patients with r-axSpA will also be presented in a late-breaking oral presentation. In addition, the first two-year bimekizumab data in psoriatic arthritis from the Phase 3 studies, BE OPTIMAL and BE COMPLETE, and the open-label extension, BE VITAL, were also announced on Wednesday. These data are presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2024, in Vienna, Austria, 12-15 June.

'The bimekizumab new two-year data in axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis presented at EULAR 2024 reinforce our belief in bimekizumab to provide long-term robust and sustained outcomes for patients with psoriatic arthritis and for patients across the full spectrum of axial spondyloarthritis,' said Emmanuel Caeymaex, UCB executive vice president, head of Patient Impact, chief commercial officer. 'We are particularly excited to share new late-breaking data that highlights our commitment to demonstrate the long-term benefit of bimekizumab on disease progression in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.'

'The bimekizumab data in axial spondyloarthritis presented at EULAR 2024 showed that non-radiographic and radiographic axSpA patients achieved sustained suppression of inflammation over two years, and reported sustained improvements in symptoms which have a substantial impact on daily living including spinal pain, morning stiffness and fatigue,' said Xenofon Baraliakos, professor of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. 'One of the long-term treatment goals in axSpA is the prevention of structural progression. Late-breaking data also shared at the congress showed that the majority of radiographic axial spondyloarthritis patients treated with bimekizumab had no spinal radiographic progression over two years.'

'Minimal disease activity and remission are key treatment targets in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis,' said Laura Coates, associate professor, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, UK. 'New two-year data presented at EULAR 2024 showed that approximately 50% of patients treated with bimekizumab achieved sustained minimal disease activity and remission over two years. Improvements were observed across all patient-reported and most clinical components of minimal disease activity, with robust improvements in joint and skin outcomes.'