Rituximab and mycophenolate mofetil combination in patients with interstitial lung disease (EVER-ILD): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

International audienceBackground Standard of care for interstitial lung disease (ILD) with a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) pattern proposes mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as one of the first step therapies while rituximab is used as rescue therapy. Methods In a randomised, double blind, two-parallel group, placebo-controlled trial ( NCT02990286 ), patients with connective tissue disease-associated ILD or idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (with or without autoimmune feature) and a NSIP pattern (defined on NSIP pathological pattern or on integration of clinico-biological data and a NSIP-like HRCT pattern) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive rituximab (1000 mg) or placebo on day 1 and day 15 in addition to MMF (2 g daily) for six months. The primary endpoint was the change in percent of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) from baseline to 6 months analysed by a linear mixed model for repeated measures analysis. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS) up to 6 months and safety. Findings Between January 2017 and January 2019, 122 randomised patients received at least one dose of rituximab (n=63) or placebo (n=59). The least-squares mean change from baseline to 6 months in FVC (% predicted) was +1.60 ( se 1.13) in the rituximab+MMF group and −2.01 ( se 1.17) in the placebo+MMF group (between-group difference, 3.60 [95% CI 0.41 to 6.80]; p=0.0273). PFS was better in the rituximab+MMF group (crude HR 0.47 [95%CI 0.23 to 0.96]; p=0.03). Serious adverse events occurred in 26 patients of the rituximab+MMF group (41%) and in 23 of the placebo+MMF group (39%). Nine infections were reported in the rituximab+MMF group (five bacterial infections, 3 viral infections, 1 other) and four bacterial infections in the placebo+MMF group. Interpretation Combination of rituximab and MMF was superior to MMF alone in patients with ILD and a NSIP pattern. The use of this combination must consider the risk of viral infection