EULAR 2023 launched today to crowds of attendees.  The opening Plenary session and presidential address by Dr. Ian McInnes was followed by a number of overview and review sessions with but a half-day of abstracts presentations, on several therapeutic areas including osteoarthritis, JIA, COVID and more.  The following are a few of the presentations that caught my eye.

The pharmacology treatment in SLE is a rapidly expanding field of research that provides excitement and optimism to both the patients and the clinicians. We now have three licensed targeted therapies (belimumab and voclosporin in active lupus nephritis and anifrolumab in non-renal SLE) over the last 3 years compared to one therapy (belimumab in non-renal SLE) in the previous 50 years. What are other promising therapies on the horizon? 

In the last 2 years, there has been more caution and vigilance with the use of JAK inhibitors in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis due to the risk of CV events, including MACE and VTE. The ORAL surveillance study, a post-approval safety study conducted in RA patients aged ≥50 years with ≥1 CV risk factor, has resulted in increased caution and greater emphasis on assessment of MACE and VTE risks in patients starting JAK inhibitors.