EMA accepts for review MAA from Pfizer for Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Pfizer Inc. announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Xeljanz (tofacitinib citrate) 5 mg tablets twice daily for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to methotrexate (MTX). The EMA will now initiate its review of the Xeljanz MAA.

This application provides additional information to the original MAA submission, including data from the Phase III ORAL (Oral Rheumatoid Arthritis Phase III TriaLs) global development program in RA. This program consisted of six completed clinical trials, in addition to two open-label long-term extension (LTE) studies, one of which is still ongoing. To date, the ORAL development program has accumulated more than 19,400 patient-years of drug exposure having been studied in more than 6,100 patients including follow-up observations of up to eight years in the LTE study.

March 2016-Xeljanz is the only oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor approved in more than 45 countries around the world for the treatment of moderate to severe RA.