Efficacy of golimumab in Belgian patients with active rheumatoid arthritis despite treatment with non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: sub-analysis of the GO-MORE study

<b>Objectives:</b> The GO-MORE trial (NCT00975130) was a phase 3 study in 40 countries evaluating the efficacy and safety of golimumab as add-on therapy in biologic-naïve adults with active rheumatoid arthritis despite stable treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. To inform local practice in Belgium and examine the role of baseline disease activity in treatment response, we compared the efficacy of golimumab in the Belgian subpopulation and the rest of the world. <b>Methods:</b> Baseline disease activity and six-month efficacy rates in the GO-MORE trial were compared for the Belgian subpopulation and the rest of the world by <i>t</i>-tests and chi-squared tests. <b>Results:</b> Except for functional impairment, all measures of baseline disease activity were significantly lower (<i>p</i> n = 123) than in the rest of the world (<i>n</i> = 3157). At month six, the rate of good/moderate EULAR response was similar in Belgium and the rest of the world (78.9% vs. 82.2%; <i>p</i> = 0.34), but remission rates were higher in Belgium according to the DAS28-ESR (43.1% vs. 23.2%; <i>p</i> p = 0.01). Rates of low DAS28-ESR disease activity were also higher in Belgium (54.5% vs. 36.8%; <i>p</i> n = 73) and high baseline activity (<i>n</i> = 49). Rates of functional impairment at month six did not differ between the two populations. <b>Conclusion:</b> In the Belgian population of the GO-MORE trial, baseline disease activity was lower and six-month remission rates were higher than in the rest of the world.