A Phase 3 interventional study of TNFi (Tumor Necrosis Factor inhibitor) medication and Abatacept in Polyarticular Course Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), sponsored by Duke University. Recruiting at 7 sites in 4 countries. Open to participants aged 2 Years to 21 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-21.
Sponsored by Duke University · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment
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Among 21 studies testing tocilizumab in Arthritis, Juvenile — 2 open to participants now, 2 under way, 1 of them phase 3. tocilizumab · Arthritis, Juvenile.
Among the 21 studies testing tocilizumab in Arthritis, Juvenile, this one has the largest planned enrollment, is the only one that started in 2026, is one of 12 in phase 3, and was the 20th registered.
365 studies on the registry are indexed under Arthritis, Juvenile; 101 are open to participants now.
Browse Arthritis, Juvenile studies →2 of the 21 studies testing tocilizumab in Arthritis, Juvenile are open now, in 4 countries. Recruiting first, the newest first:
NYU Langone Health · Sites in United States
Ages 18+
By country, each count listing its studies:
tocilizumab: first FDA approval 2010 (ACTEMRA), first EMA approval 2009. What it is approved for, and how studies give it, is on its page →
Of the 69 Arthritis, Juvenile studies recruiting now, 13 (19%) set no upper age limit and 50 (72%) stop at 75 or younger; 65 take children under 18; 11 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 2 Years to 21 Years · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.
The full table on the hub →This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
21 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
A study in two phases is counted once above. Listed by phase, each with its combined phases: Phase 1 5 · Phase 2 2 · Phase 3 12 · Phase 4 2
First in 2004; this study’s year is marked. 1 started in 2026.
By drug class, each counting the studies that test any of its medicines:
This study's planned enrollment of 400 is above the median of 52 across 230 interventional studies indexed under Arthritis, Juvenile.
Median enrollment 52 across the 21 interventional studies. Of the 19 that completed or were terminated, 9 (47%) have results posted.
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
16 of 21 have an industry lead sponsor. The 7 most frequent:
Duke University is the lead sponsor of 2,063 studies on the registry; 272 are open to participants now.
Of its 204 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 167 (82%) have results posted.
Duke University has 5 studies filed under Arthritis, Juvenile — fewer than ten, so there is no comparison to draw.
None of the studies under way reaches primary completion within a year.
Among the 21 studies testing tocilizumab in Arthritis, Juvenile, from their registry updates:
Nothing recorded among them since 2026-09-25.
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
This study is an open-label, randomized, multicenter trial that incorporates a multi-arm design comparing each of 3 non-TNFi (Tumor Necrosis Factor inhibitor) medications to a second TNFi (active control) within a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial design with 2 randomization stages corresponding with clinical decision points. The first randomization addresses whether each of the 3 non-TNFi medications is superior to treatment with a second TNFi. The second randomization allows identification of optimal sequential use of biologics (treatment strategies).
The goal of the study is to provide an evidence base for selecting sequential medication(s) if a JIA patient fails initial bDMARD. SMART-JIA is a pragmatic, international, open-label, randomized trial comparing treatment with a second TNFi (active control) to each of 3 different medications (IL-6i, JAKi, or ABA) in children aged 2 to 21 years with pcJIA and inadequate response to initial TNFi. Leveraging sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design methodology, we will implement a second randomization to assess the effectiveness of changing medication if there is inadequate response to the first study medication. This approach allows identification of optimal strategies for medication sequencing based on individual characteristics and provides critical insights to inform future studies.
SMART-JIA will study the efficacy of a second TNFi (active control) compared to each of 3 other already US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and European Union (EU)-approved non-TNFi medications currently used to treat pcJIA (IL-6i, JAKi, and ABA). TNFi, IL-6i, and ABA are administered by subcutaneous (SQ) injection weekly, or every other week, or every three weeks, and JAKi (e.g., tofacitinib) is taken orally twice daily. All study treatments have similar safety profiles and are standard of care (SOC) worldwide. This in addition to the pragmatic and full-scale nature of the trial will ensure its completion. Successful completion of this trial will substantially impact the clinical care and outcomes of children with pcJIA, shifting the current trial-and-error treatment paradigm to a smart, precise approach.
The criteria were revised on the registry on Sep 25, 2026. See what changed
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).
The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.
It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.
Vaccines made with a weakened form of the germ, such as measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), chickenpox and yellow fever. They can be risky when the immune system is weakened. Flu injections are not live; the nasal flu spray is.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ALT and AST (liver enzymes)
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hemoglobin (Hb)
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)
The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.
It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Live vaccines
Vaccines made with a weakened form of the germ, such as measles–mumps–rubella (MMR), chickenpox and yellow fever. They can be risky when the immune system is weakened. Flu injections are not live; the nasal flu spray is.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Excipients
The other ingredients in a medicine besides the active drug, such as fillers, colours or preservatives.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Adalimumab originator or biosimilar; etanercept originator or biosimilar depending on which TNFi the participant had failed.
Drug: TNFi (Tumor Necrosis Factor inhibitor) medication
The 50 mg, 87.5 mg and 125 mg SQ doses will be available for weight-based dosing. All participants randomized to abatacept in the first or second stage randomization will receive abatacept SQ weekly at a dosage based on the participant's body weight
Drug: Abatacept
Tocilizumab will be provided in prefilled syringes (162 mg tocilizumab/0.9 mL solution). All participants randomized to tocilizumab in the first or second stage randomization will be receiving 1 prefilled syringe (162 mg) with a dosing interval based on the body weight criteria.
Drug: Tocilizumab
Tofacitinib will be provided as oral tablets (tofacitinib citrate 5 mg) and as an oral solution (1 mg/mL). All participants randomized to tofacitinib in the first or second stage randomization will receive tofacitinib oral tablets or oral solution twice daily, approximately 12 hours apart, in the morning and evening, at a dosage based on the participant's body weight .
Drug: Tofacitinib
Adalimumab 10 kg (22 lbs) to \<15 kg (33 lbs) 10 mg every other week\* 15 kg (33 lbs) to \<30 kg (66 lbs) 20 mg every other week ≥30 kg (66 lbs) 40 mg every other week Etanercept ≥63 kg (138 lb) 50 mg weekly \<63 kg (138 lb) 0.8 mg/kg weekly
10 kg to \<25 kg 50 mg once weekly 25 kg to \<50 kg 87.5 mg once weekly ≥50 kg 125 mg once weekly
\<30 kg 162 mg once every 3 weeks ≥30 kg 162 mg once every 2 weeks
10 to \<20 kg 3.2 mg (3.2 mL oral solution) BID 20 to \<40 kg 4 mg (4 mL oral solution) BID ≥40 kg 5 mg (one 5 mg tablet or 5 mL oral solution) BID
Number of participants with MiDA
Minimal disease activity (MiDA) at Month 6 as assessed by the cJADAS10 ≤5 MiDA is low-disease activity and inactive disease in this protocol. Score range for the cJADAS10 (total): 0 - 30. Disease State cJADAS10 Score Inactive disease ≤2.5 Low-disease activity 2.6 - 5 Moderate-disease activity 5.1 - 16 High-disease activity \>16 Minimal disease activity (MiDA) is a state of low disease activity or remission that is considered a useful treatment target for both patients and physicians. The clinical Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (cJADAS10) is a tool used to measure the level of disease activity in non-systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). It's a composite index that combines information from several sources, including: * The number of active joints, up to 10 * The physician's global assessment of disease activity (PhGA) * The patient or parental global assessment of well-being (PaGA)
Time frame: Month 6
PROMIS® Pain Interference at Month 6
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). For most PROMIS instruments, a score of 50 is the average for the United States general population with a standard deviation of 10 because calibration testing was performed on a large sample of the general population. For PROMIS measures, higher scores equals more of the concept being measured (e.g., more Fatigue, more Physical Function). Thus a score of 60 is one standard deviation above the average referenced population. This could be a desirable or undesirable outcome, depending upon the concept being measured.
Time frame: Month 6
PROMIS® Fatigue at Month 6
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). For most PROMIS instruments, a score of 50 is the average for the United States general population with a standard deviation of 10 because calibration testing was performed on a large sample of the general population. For PROMIS measures, higher scores equals more of the concept being measured (e.g., more Fatigue, more Physical Function). Thus a score of 60 is one standard deviation above the average referenced population. This could be a desirable or undesirable outcome, depending upon the concept being measured.
Time frame: Month 6
PROMIS® Physical Function at Month 6
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). For most PROMIS instruments, a score of 50 is the average for the United States general population with a standard deviation of 10 because calibration testing was performed on a large sample of the general population. For PROMIS measures, higher scores equals more of the concept being measured (e.g., more Fatigue, more Physical Function). Thus a score of 60 is one standard deviation above the average referenced population. This could be a desirable or undesirable outcome, depending upon the concept being measured.
Time frame: Month 6
Change in arthritis disease activity (cJADAS10)
Minimal disease activity (MiDA) at Month 6 as assessed by the cJADAS10 ≤5 MiDA is low-disease activity and inactive disease in this protocol. Score range for the cJADAS10 (total): 0 - 30. Disease State cJADAS10 Score Inactive disease ≤2.5 Low-disease activity 2.6 - 5 Moderate-disease activity 5.1 - 16 High-disease activity \>16 Minimal disease activity (MiDA) is a state of low disease activity or remission that is considered a useful treatment target for both patients and physicians.
Time frame: Month 6
Change in arthritis disease activity (JIA American College of Rheumatology Pediatric 70 [ACR 70]) at Month 6
The ACR score is a scale to measure change in rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. An ACR70 response represents at least a 70% improvement in tender and swollen joint counts.
Time frame: Month 6
Number of participants with MiDA (Change in arthritis disease activity [cJADAS10] at Month 12)
Minimal disease activity (MiDA) at Month 12 as assessed by the cJADAS10 ≤5 MiDA is low-disease activity and inactive disease in this protocol. Score range for the cJADAS10 (total): 0 - 30. Disease State cJADAS10 Score Inactive disease ≤2.5 Low-disease activity 2.6 - 5 Moderate-disease activity 5.1 - 16 High-disease activity \>16 Minimal disease activity (MiDA) is a state of low disease activity or remission that is considered a useful treatment target for both patients and physicians.
Time frame: Month 12
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Jan 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for May 2029, 40 months after the start.
Of 36 phase 3 interventional studies under Arthritis, Juvenile, half reached primary completion within 42 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 30 and three quarters within 70. This study's planned 40 months is close to that.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
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Studies of the drugs tested here: Abatacept · Tocilizumab · Tofacitinib