AB Science Recruits First Patient in Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Study

The study will enrol approximately 450 patients, and is designed to compare the efficacy and safety of masitinib at 3mg/kg/day and 6mg/kg/day to methotrexate in the treatment of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.

French biotechnology company AB Science has enrolled the first patient in its Phase IIb/III study of masitinib in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Masitinib is a selective inhibitor of the c-Kit and Lyn kinases, which play a key role in the survival and activation of mast cells and are involved in the immune response and inflammatory processes associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

The international, multicentre, randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled study will enrol approximately 450 patients, and is designed to compare the efficacy and safety of masitinib at 3mg/kg/day and 6mg/kg/day to methotrexate in the treatment of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.

In the study, the primar