Long‐Term Safety and Efficacy of Efgartigimod <scp>PH20</scp> in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy: <scp>ADHERE</scp> / <scp>ADHERE</scp> + Trial Interim Analysis
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In ADHERE, subcutaneous efgartigimod PH20 (1000 mg once weekly) was effective and well tolerated in participants with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). ADHERE+ is an open-label extension of ADHERE assessing long-term safety and efficacy. METHODS: Eligible participants from ADHERE run-in period (prior CIDP treatments discontinued), stage A (open-label efgartigimod), and stage B (stage A responders randomized to placebo or efgartigimod) could roll over to ADHERE+ and receive efgartigimod. The primary outcome was to assess long-term safety and tolerability. Efficacy outcomes evaluated adjusted Inflammatory Neuropathy Cause and Treatment (aINCAT) score, Inflammatory Rasch-built Overall Disability Scale (I-RODS) score, and mean grip strength (GS) from ADHERE run-in baseline through ADHERE+ week 36. RESULTS: At interim data cut-off (February 16, 2024), 228/229 eligible participants advanced to ADHERE+. Prolonged efgartigimod exposure did not increase the incidence (n = 171/228 [75.0%]) or severity of TEAEs (grade ≥ 3 TEAEs, n = 41/228 [18.0%]); regardless of immunoglobulin G level, there was a low incidence of infections. Stage A responders reported long-term clinically meaningful improvements in mean aINCAT (decreased by 1.2 points), I-RODS centile metric (increase of 8.8 points), and GS scores (increase of 17.5 kPa) from run-in baseline to ADHERE+ week 36, irrespective of stage B treatment. INTERPRETATION: Interim results from ADHERE+ indicate long-term efgartigimod PH20 treatment in participants with CIDP was well tolerated (maximum exposure = 187.3 weeks; mean (SD) treatment duration = 58.0 [33.8] weeks). Clinically meaningful improvements in disability and strength were observed across assessments, regardless of stage B treatment or prior treatment status, with greater improvements seen over time.
Authors
- Satoshi Kuwabara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4716-8578)
- Luís Querol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4289-8264)
- Mark Stettner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8836-0443)
- Simon Rinaldi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2039-3457)
- Geoffrey Istas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7027-5611)
- Benjamin Van Hoorick
- Jeffrey A. Allen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8753-2680)
- Trevor Mole
- Richard A. Lewis
Institutions
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (US)
- Chiba University (JP)
- University of Minnesota System (US)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (ES)
- Essen University Hospital (DE)
- Argenx (Belgium) (BE)
- University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the Peripheral Nervous System
- Published
- 2026-07-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/jns.70140
- Primary Topic
- Peripheral Neuropathies and Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Argenx