How to safely reduce biologic medications in inflammatory arthritis.

We are looking for people with well-controlled Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis (RA and PsA) on biologic or targeted-synthetic medications. The trial aims to evaluate the efficacy and cost-saving of safely reducing and stopping these drugs, and through biobank samples for lab analysis you can help us predict a success or failure of drug reduction in the future.

Who can participate?

You may be eligible to participate in this study if you:

• are aged 18 years or over
• first started any biologic or targeted synthetic Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (b/tsDMARDs) at least 18 months ago
• are in remission or low disease activity and have been stable on DMARD for at least 6 months, and
• if you are on oral corticosteroids, the dose is 5mg or less daily of prednisone or equivalent and has been stable for at least 6 months
• are not on an ineligible DMARD medication (e.g. rituximab, ustekinumab)
• have not had any intravenous (into the blood) or intra-articular (into the joint) corticosteroid injections in the last 6 months
• don’t have concurrent medical conditions that are likely to impact your safety
• are not pregnant
• have not had an investigational new drug within the last 12 weeks

What will you have to do in this study?

You will attend clinic visits in person at a maximum of 8 times in one of our study sites. The dosage will be reduced gradually if you are randomised to a TAPER arm. It will be awesome if you could help with blood and microbiome collections and questionnaires. Travel expenses associated with the visits will be reimbursed, in the form of a gift card with $15 each visit.

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