Based on: Rheumatoid Arthritis — gene targets, candidate compounds and trials, OSMF Research Tracker (DGIdb, Open Targets, ChEMBL, PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov data). Numbers are a snapshot taken 8 October 2026; the tracker page is the live version.
Short answer: as of October 2026, the OSMF Research Tracker lists 54 candidate interventions for rheumatoid arthritis that are either approved medicines or have at least one registered clinical trial, built on 13 druggable gene targets, with 14 recent trials on ClinicalTrials.gov. 8 are already approved medicines, for this condition or another one; where the approval is for a different condition, the trial is testing a new use, which is what drug repurposing means. Being in a trial says an intervention is being studied, not that it works; that is what the trial is for.
Which candidates have the most trial activity?
Ranked by the number of registered trials the tracker found. Each trial ID links to the registry entry, where you can read the design, status and sponsor.
- adalimumab — 4 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT01185301 NCT00690573 NCT01592292
- Etanercept — 3 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT01623752 NCT01592292
- PF-04629991 — 3 registered trials · investigational · NCT00797342
- Sirukumab — 3 registered trials · investigational · NCT01606761
- abatacept — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT00547521 NCT04909801
- methotrexate — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT01185301 NCT04909801
- Rituximab — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT00664521 NCT01592292
- Treatment A — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT01184001
- Treatment B — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT01184001
- VAY736 — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT05349214 NCT05350072
- Filgotinib — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT04985435
- Infliximab — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT01592292
Which gene targets are these built on?
The tracker starts from genes with evidence of being druggable in rheumatoid arthritis and asks which compounds act on them. Each symbol links to its DGIdb entry, which lists the interacting drugs and the papers behind them: CD80, IL17A, IL1B, IL6, IL6R, JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, MMP3, MS4A1, PTPN22, TNF, TNFSF11.
Which trials are registered?
- Prospective Study for the Evaluation of the Cementless Anatomic Femoral Stem Minimax -Launay NCT06012656 · Active Not Recruiting · started 2019-01-02
- Frequency and Complications of Major Orthopedic Procedures in Medicare Beneficiaries NCT02281747 · Active Not Recruiting · started 2014-10-24
- Prevalence of Adrenal Insufficiency and Associated Factors in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Using Low-dose Corticosteroids. NCT07866326 · Recruiting · started 2026-07-31
- Characterization of Diseases With Salivary Gland Involvement NCT02327884 · Recruiting · started 2015-04-03
- A Study to Compare Efficacy, Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Immunogenicity of MB04 [Proposed Etanercept Biosimilar] to Enbrel® [EU-sourced] in Rheumatoid Arthritis NCT06596772 · Completed · Phase PHASE3 · started 2024-10-03
- A Study to Evaluate Different Targeted Therapies for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis NCT06972446 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE2 · started 2025-06-20
- A Study of LY4298445 in Healthy Participants and Participants With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) or Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) NCT07276958 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE1 · started 2026-02-04
- The Pathogenesis and Natural History of Sjogren's Disease NCT01425892 · Recruiting · started 2012-01-18
- MethMax Trial: MAXimising the METHotrexate Therapy Potential in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis NCT06649136 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE4 · started 2024-08-12
- Natural History, Genetics, and Pathophysiology of Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Adult-Onset Still's Disease, and Related Conditions NCT03510442 · Recruiting · started 2018-05-21
How to read this
Evidence is graded on the tracker page in three tiers: clinical (tested in people), mechanistic (a documented action on the target) and correlative (an association in the literature). Most candidates sit in the lower tiers, and many trials are small or early-phase. The purpose of this list is to show where the research is, with sources, so that patients, clinicians and researchers can look further; it is not a ranking of what to take.
Related on this site
Research information, not medical advice. Decisions about any medicine belong with you and your clinician. The underlying data are open (CC BY 4.0) and refreshed daily; this note was generated from the tracker page on 8 October 2026.