Meta-analysis and GRADE assessment of randomized controlled trials on the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in psoriatic arthritis patients

Objective A persistent immune-mediated inflammatory disorder called psoriatic arthritis affects about 25% of persons with psoriasis. Bimekizumab, a humanized monoclonal IgG1 antibody, is a novel therapeutic approach that inhibits homodimers and heterodimers of IL-17A and IL-17F by binding to comparable locations in these molecules. Bimekizumab was the subject of a meta-analysis to assess its efficacy and safety in psoriatic arthritis patients.Methods All randomized clinical trials were looked up on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The Systematic Review Accelerator tool was used to screen them, and RevMan was used to analyze them. The Mean Difference (MD) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were used to examine continuous data, whereas the Risk Ratio (RR) and 95% CI were used to evaluate dichotomous data.Results A total of 1364 participants from 4 trials were included in this meta-analysis. The number of participants who met the American College of Rheumatology 50 threshold was significantly higher in the bimekizumab group compared to the placebo group [RR = 4.94, 95% CI (3.73, 6.55), p < .00001]. Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 100 was achieved by significantly more people in the bimekizumab group than in the placebo group [RR = 11.45, 95% CI (6.67, 19.67), p < .00001]. There was no significant difference between the bimekizumab group and the placebo group in terms of treatment-emergent adverse events [RR = 1.08, 95% CI (0.97, 1.21), p = .15].Conclusion In comparison to a placebo, bimekizumab treatment significantly improved joint and skin efficacy outcomes. Also, its safety results were acceptable.