New work presented at the 2025 annual EULAR congress in Barcelona focuses on the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV), which contains recombinant glycoprotein E – the major target of CD4+T-cells. The abstract describes the tolerability and safety of RZV in patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (iRMD), showcasing interim data from an ongoing study.

Social determinants of health (SDH), such as socioeconomic status and educational background are factors that are increasingly recognised as critical contributors to health outcomes in chronic diseases. Understanding how certain factors impact different RMDs is important, and new research into this for both systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inflammatory arthritis was presented at the 2025 annual EULAR congress in Barcelona.

Is there a higher risk of cancer that comes with the disease? Or with the treatments? So many confounding parameters, such as disease duration, disease state, and disease activity come into play. A promising session explored comorbidities in Rheumatoid Arthritis, in particular cancer and cardiovascular events. Here are my takeaways.

Day 2 was a full agenda for those attending EULAR 2025 in Barcelona with sessions on the management of RA, Behcets, Lupus and Hand Osteoarthritis. Clinical overviews on MAS, Ehlers-Danlos, Difficult to treat RA and PsA offered a wide variety of options to rheumatologists. Here are a few interesting presentations from today.

The longest studied drug for uveitis in SpA has been monocolonal TNFi Abs. Reductions of acute anterior uveitis have been found with etanercept but less impressively than adalimumab, infliximab, and in my opinion less than golimumab and certolizumab pegol. Other data have emerged for JAKi and IL17i, with respect to acute anterior uveitis.

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) represent a challenging intersection of systemic autoimmunity and progressive respiratory impairment. Research presented at EULAR 2025 continues to highlight the importance of CTD-ILD and the evolving landscape of therapeutic options for patients with autoimmune ILDs.

Two recent studies suggest there is no significant benefit of early biologics over standard step-up care with methotrexate2,3, but these did not select for poor prognosis.

Wednesday was Day One at EULAR 2025 in Barcelona. Thousands from around the world gathered, eager to reunite at this international educational forum. Below are a few of my favorites from Day 1.

Despite the advances in the treatment of PsA with biologic (bDMARD) and targeted synthetic (tsDMARD), less than half of patients with this condition achieved remission or low disease activity. Combination DMARD treatment is often used in order to achieve remission or minimal disease activity. The standard practice is to use a conventional synthetic (csDMARD) with a bDMARD. The use of the combination of bDMARD with a tsDMARD such as a JAKi or

This year at EULAR, health inequalities have taken centre stage as fundamental drivers of outcomes in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Across multiple sessions and studies, delegates are presenting compelling evidence and ground-breaking research demonstrating that who you are, where you live, and what resources you can access truly do shape the trajectory of chronic illness just as much as biological factors.

The concept of Difficult-to-Manage (D2M) axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a recent development, with the first expert consensus definition published by the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) earlier this year. This unified definition has stimulated a wave of new research globally, with multiple studies analysing D2M axSpA in diverse clinical cohorts.

Choice is not just good, it is often necessary, and secukinumab promises just that in both PMR and GCA.

We’re seeing more patients develop rheumatic diseases for the first time in their 60s, 70s, or beyond. But are these truly the same diseases we see in younger adults, or do they behave differently, shaped by age-related biology, comorbidity, and the biases that influence medical decision-making? Several abstracts presented at EULAR 2025 challenge us to reconsider how we diagnose and treat rheumatic disease in older adults.

The race is on for the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based therapy to be approved for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. Its main principle is to induce deep B-cell depletion, with the hope to reset the B-cell aberrant immunity for a sustained clinical remission. At EULAR 2025 in Barcelona, several advances of CAR-based therapies will be presented.