HQ Team
August 29, 2025: Johnson & Johnson has stopped a mid-trial evaluation of a combination drug to treat people with a type of arthritis after the therapy failed to show “sufficient evidence” of benefit to the patients.
“At 12 weeks, study results did not show sufficient evidence that the combination therapy provided a significant added benefit” over a standalone therapy that treated inflammation, according to a statement.
The Phase II trial involved a combination of nipocalimab with an anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The company stated the combination had the potential to be an “effective option.”
“Johnson & Johnson has decided not to proceed with the clinical development,” according to the statement. No new safety concerns were found. “We remain confident in the nipocalimab product having $5 billion-plus potential.”
Lining of joints
Rheumatoid arthritis causes joint inflammation and pain. It happens when the immune system doesn’t work properly and attacks the lining of the joints, called the synovium.
The disease affects the hands, knees or ankles, and usually the same joint on both sides of the body, such as both hands or both knees. But sometimes it causes problems in other parts of the body as well, such as the eyes, heart and circulatory system or the lungs.
More women than men get the disease, and it usually develops in middle age. Having a family member with rheumatoid arthritis increases the odds of developing it.
Gene activation
In a healthy person, the immune system fights invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. With an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system mistakes the body’s cells for foreign invaders and releases inflammatory chemicals that attack those cells.
It attacks the synovium, the tissue lining around a joint that produces a fluid to help the joint move smoothly. The inflamed synovium gets thicker and makes the joint area feel painful and tender, and look red and swollen, and moving the joint may be difficult.
Researchers aren’t sure why people develop rheumatoid arthritis. They believe these individuals may have certain genes that are activated by a trigger in the environment, such as a virus or bacteria, physical or emotional stress or other external factors.
