A Placebo-controlled Phase 2 Trial to Investigate the Safety and Efficacy of Secukinumab in Giant Cell Arteritis

Remission was defined as the absence of flare. Sustained remission was defined as the absence of flare until Week 28 and in adherence to the protocol prednisolone taper regimen.

Flare was determined by the investigator and was defined as the recurrence after remission of signs or symptoms of Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) and/or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) greater than or equal to (>/=) 30 millimeters per hour (mm/hr) and/or C-reactive Protein (CRP) (>/=10.0 mg/L) attributable to GCA.

Patients were classified as non-responders if they did not achieve remission within 12 weeks of Baseline (remission referred to the absence of flare), were in the "escape arm" (this referred to patients entering escape between Baseline and Week 28), prematurely discontinued study treatment prior to Week 28 (absence of flare was checked prior to study treatment administration), did not have information to evaluate sustained remission response until Week 28.

Remission was defined as the absence of flare. Sustained remission was defined as the absence of flare until Week 28 and in adherence to the protocol prednisolone taper Regimen.

Flare was determined by the investigator and was defined as the recurrence after remission of signs or symptoms of GCA and/or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) greater than or equal to (>/=) 30 millimeters per hour (mm/hr) and/or CRP (>/=10.0 mg/L) attributable to GCA.

Patients were classified as non-responders if they did not achieve remission within 12 weeks of Baseline (remission referred to the absence of flare), were in the "escape arm" (this referred to patients entering escape between Baseline and Week 28), prematurely discontinued study treatment prior to Week 28 (absence of flare was checked prior to study treatment administration), did not have information to evaluate sustained remission response until Week 28.

Flare was determined by the investigator and was defined as the recurrence after remission of signs or symptoms of GCA and/or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) greater than or equal to (>/=) 30 millimeters per hour (mm/hr) and/or CRP (>/=10.0 mg/L) attributable to GCA. Time to first flare after remission referred to time from first day of study treatment until first post-Baseline flare.

For time to first GCA flare after remission (up to and including Week 52), patients who prematurely discontinued study treatment prior to Week 52 were censored at the time of premature discontinuation and patients who completed treatment and did not have a flare were censored at their last visit in the treatment phase.

Time to first GCA flare after remission was calculated using Kaplan-Meier plot of time.

Total cumulative co-administered prednisolone treatment was summarized over time by treatment arm. Patients received a daily dose of prednisolone, which was decreased (i.e. tapered down) from Baseline to Week 26. No additional prednisolone or equivalent was permitted.

Remission was defined as the absence of flare. Sustained remission was defined as patients without flare until Week 52 and in adherence to the protocol prednisolone taper regimen plus prednisolone-free phase from Week 27 onwards. Flare was determined by the investigator and was defined as the recurrence after remission of signs or symptoms of GCA and/or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) greater than or equal to (>/=) 30 millimeters per hour (mm/hr) and/or CRP (>/=10.0 mg/L) attributable to GCA.

Patients were classified as non-responders if they did not achieve remission within 12 weeks of Baseline (remission referred to the absence of flare), were in the "escape arm" (this referred to patients entering escape between Baseline and Week 28), prematurely discontinued study treatment prior to Week 28 (absence of flare was checked prior to study treatment administration), did not have information to evaluate sustained remission response until Week 28.

Number of participants on co-administered prednisolone treatment ≤ 5mg/day who responded at Week 19, Week 26 and Week 52.

Remission was defined as the absence of flare. Sustained remission was defined as the absence of flare until Week 28 and in adherence to the protocol prednisolone taper Regimen. There were 2 taper regimens: for patients on 40 to 60 mg/day prednisolone at Baseline and for patients on 25 to 40 mg/day prednisolone at Baseline depending on patients' prednisolone levels at Baseline. Prednisolone was tapered from a dose of 25 mg to 60 mg at Baseline to 1 mg at Week 26 [last dose].

Clinician Reported Outcome: Physicians global assessment (PhGA) using a visual analogue scale (VAS) scale. VAS is a range of scores from 0-100, with lower change from baseline scores indicating a more favorable outcome and higher change from baseline scores indicating a greater disease activity.

Patient Reported Outcome: Patients global assessment (PGA) score using a VAS scale. VAS is a range of scores from 0-100, with lower change from baseline scores indicating a more favorable outcome and higher change from baseline scores indicating a greater disease activity.

Patient Reported Outcome: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue is a 13-item questionnaire with a full scale of 0 -52 that assesses self-reported fatigue and its impact upon daily activities and function. The higher the score the better functioning (less fatigue).

Patient Reported Outcome: The SF-36 is a standardized questionnaire used to measure health-related quality of life among healthy patients and patients with acute and chronic conditions. It consists of 8 subscales that can be scored individually: Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Role-Emotional and Mental Health. The higher the score (change from baseline) the more favorable the outcome. The values were reported by change from baseline in SF-36 domain scores.

EQ-5D-5L, a self-administered questionnaire assessing health status in adults, is divided into 2 sections. The 1st section addresses 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activity, pain/discomfort, & anxiety/depression). Items are rated either "no problem", "slight problems", "moderate problems", "severe problems", or "extreme problems/unable." A composite health index is defined by combining the levels for each dimension. The 2nd section measures self-rated (global) health status via vertically oriented VAS where 100 represents the "best possible health state" & 0 represents the "worst possible health state." The EQ-5D-5L contains 6 items assessing health status via a single index value or health utility score and allows "weighting" by the patient of health states & generation of patient utilities. Published weights are available allowing for creation of a single summary health utility score. Scores range from 0 to 1, with lower scores representing a higher level of dysfunction.

ESR is a laboratory test that provides a non-specific measure of inflammation. This was assessed in order to identify the presence of inflammation, to determine its severity, and to monitor response to treatment. The test assesses the rate at which red blood cells fall in a test tube. Normal range is 0-30 mm/hr. A higher rate is consistent with inflammation.

The test for CRP is a laboratory measurement for evaluation of an acute phase reactant of inflammation through the use of an ultrasensitive assay. This was assessed in order to identify the presence of inflammation, to determine its severity, and to monitor response to treatment. A decrease in the level of CRP indicates reduction in inflammation and therefore improvement.