Breakthrough Autoimmune Findings at ACR 2025

The American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, ACR Convergence 2025, took place from October 24 to 29 in Chicago and featured significant advances that could transform the treatment and understanding of autoimmune diseases.

For rheumatoid arthritis, researchers reported encouraging results from an experimental therapy called rosnilimab. The drug works by removing overactive immune cells known as T cells, which attack the body’s own tissues in autoimmune diseases. In this study, patients experienced meaningful improvement in joint pain and swelling, with a strong safety profile. This approach could one day offer a new option for people who do not respond to existing medications.

In psoriatic arthritis, the oral medication deucravacitinib continued to show benefit through a full year of treatment. It blocks a signaling pathway called TYK2 that drives inflammation in multiple autoimmune conditions. Related studies suggest this same pathway may also play a role in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and lupus.

For Sjögren disease, researchers announced progress on a long-awaited treatment. The B-cell-targeting drug ianalumab significantly reduced disease activity in two large phase III trials, NEPTUNUS-1 and NEPTUNUS-2, presented by Grader-Beck. Earlier research helped establish how overactive B cells contribute to dryness, fatigue, and organ involvement in Sjögren’s.

New findings in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) revealed how severely this disease can affect the heart. A nationwide case-control study and new autopsy analyses showed that people with SLE face a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease and heart tissue damage than the general population. These results emphasize the importance of regular heart health monitoring for anyone living with lupus.

Together, these studies point toward a future of more precise, immune-targeted therapies that aim not only to manage symptoms but to correct the underlying causes of autoimmunity.

Sources

Presented at ACR Convergence 2025, American College of Rheumatology.

1. Emery P, et al. “Rosnilimab, a selective and potent depleter of pathogenic T cells, demonstrates efficacy, safety, and translational proof of mechanism in a rheumatoid arthritis phase 2b trial” ACR 2025; Abstract LB19.
2. Van der Heijde D, et al. “Efficacy and safety of deucravacitinib up to week 52: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study in patients with active psoriatic arthritis who are naive to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs” ACR 2025; Abstract LB20.
3. Grader-Beck T, et al. “Ianalumab demonstrates significant reduction in disease activity in patients with Sjögren’s disease: Efficacy and safety results from two global phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind studies (NEPTUNUS-1 and NEPTUNUS-2)” ACR 2025; Abstract LB24.
4. Ross L, et al. “The frequency and impact of cardiovascular disease in systemic lupus erythematosus: a nationwide, matched case-control study” ACR 2025; Abstract 1716.