Most people with inflammatory diseases treated with immunomodulatory therapies mount an antibody response to mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, but the response may be blunted in those taking glucocorticoids or B cell-depleting therapies, shows the COVaRiPAD study.

An exploratory analysis of data from the phase 2b BEAT LUPUS trial suggests that IgA2 anti-dsDNA antibody levels may be able to predict response to B cell-targeted therapies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

El-Gabalawy also made a final point that “if we did treat this [pre-RA] population with existing therapies that only delay the onset [of RA], how are we going to find study participants to discover treatments that really prevent RA?”

In a statement to the press, Laura Coates (University of Oxford, UK) said: “Despite increasing numbers of therapies, there still exists a significant unmet need in psoriatic arthritis.

Findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that patients treated with anti-CD20 therapies have a heterogeneous response to vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, with particularly low seroconversion rates among those with recent B-cell depletion.

Findings from a phase 2b trial suggest that treatment with the anti-CD52 antibody alemtuzumab may be beneficial for some patients with primary systemic vasculitis and an inadequate response to conventional therapies.

A monthly selection of topical peer-reviewed articles from the Adis journals, curated by the editors.

I think we do have new therapies coming along.

How can rheumatologists respond to the challenges associated with rituximab use during the pandemic?

In addition to their findings on antibody responses, Dörner and colleagues also report associations between peripheral B-cell numbers and the T-cell response to vaccination.

Improved knowledge of the relevant pathological processes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has led to the development of targeted therapies with differing mechanisms of action (MoAs), such as adalimumab and abatacept. 

Presenting the findings in a late-breaking poster session at the conference, Liew noted that “the majority of fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections were on anti-metabolites or B-cell depleting therapies,” with 18% taking CD20 inhibitors and 28% glucocorticoids.

Jeffrey Curtis said in a press release that there was “vigorous debate” on the expected magnitude of benefit for people receiving immunomodulatory therapies.

Both speakers agreed that there is a need for further studies to establish whether using both therapies together is beneficial.

Among people treated with anti-CD20 B cell-depleting agents, timing of treatment and numbers of circulating CD4+ and CD19+ cells are significant predictors of immune responses to messenger (m)RNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, shows the RituxiVac study.

3–9 November: Keep up with the latest news and interviews from the conference.

Perspective on the approval of anifrolumab and the importance of endpoints in lupus trials.

“Although vaccine-induced IgG responses were robust, we found cell-mediated responses to be more variable and not sustained at 1 year after vaccination,” summarize the researchers.

“It is unclear whether this is attributable to the underlying disease or to the differences in therapies for these diseases,” remark Sharma et al.

New therapies targeting CD20, such as atacicept and telitacicept, seem to be promising drugs for SLE patients.