The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of abatacept to anti-TNFs using the following: Change in disease activity based on the Clinical Disease Activity Index, and (CDAI) Achievement of remission based on the CDAI.

Among this small sample of RA patients in a real-world setting, treatment with abatacept was not associated with any differences in response or remission rates from those seen with anti-TNFs based on mean change in CDAI and achievement of CDAI remission. This study suggests similar effectiveness of abatacept and anti-TNFs in biologic naïve RA patients. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm these findings.