Subcutaneous dosing regimens of tocilizumab in children with systemic or polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Objectives. To determine s.c. tocilizumab (s.c.-TCZ) dosing regimens for systemic JIA (sJIA) and polyarticular JIA (pJIA). Methods. In two 52-week phase 1 b trials, s.c.-TCZ (162 mg/dose) was administered to sJIA patients every week or every 2 weeks (every 10 days before interim analysis) and to pJIA patients every 2 weeks or every 3 weeks with body weight >= 30 kg or 5th percentile of that achieved with i.v.-TCZ was achieved by 49 (96%) sJIA and 52 (100%) pJIA patients. In both populations, pharmacodynamic markers of disease were similar between body weight groups. Improvements in Juvenile Arthritis DAS-71 were comparable between s.c.-TCZ and i.v.-TCZ. By week 52, 53% of sJIA patients and 31% of pJIA patients achieved clinical remission on treatment. Safety was consistent with that of i.v.-TCZ except for injection site reactions, reported by 41.2% and 28.8% of sJIA and pJIA patients, respectively. Infections were reported in 78.4% and 69.2% of patients, respectively. Two sJIA patients died; both deaths were considered to be related to TCZ. Conclusion. s.c.-TCZ provides exposure and risk/benefit profiles similar to those of i.v.-TCZ. S.c. administration provides an alternative administration route that is more convenient for patients and caregivers and that has potential for in-home use