The 3TR-PARTNER-RA study: Are RNA signatures (biomarkers) in the tissue which surrounds the joints (synovial tissue) from patients with early Rheumatoid Arthritis (symptoms <12 months) predictive of response to biologic drug treatments?

This study is designed for adults aged 18 and over who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis fairly recently, having had symptoms for less than 12 months. Your arthritis needs to be moderately or severely active, and you must have at least one swollen joint (such as a knee, wrist, or ankle) that is suitable for taking a small tissue sample.

To take part, you must not have previously taken disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (known as DMARDs) or biologic medicines. You also need to be able to attend regular hospital appointments and undergo simple blood tests.

You may not be eligible if you take certain blood-thinning medications like warfarin, have other primary autoimmune joint diseases, or have known allergies to the study medications. A doctor will carefully review your general health and medical history to confirm whether joining is safe and suitable for you.

If you take part, your involvement will last around five months in total. At the start, a trained doctor will perform a joint biopsy. They will use ultrasound imaging and a local anaesthetic injection to numb the joint before taking a tiny tissue sample. You will then be randomly chosen by a computer to receive either abatacept injections or dummy injections (a placebo). All participants will also receive methotrexate, a standard medicine commonly prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis. You will visit the clinic every 4 weeks for 16 weeks to check your joints, complete health questionnaires, and have routine blood tests. Around 30 days after your week-16 visit, you will have one final safety check-up.