For me and many others, this is the Super Bowl of meetings. I haven’t missed an ACR meeting since I started going as a fellow in 1984. In this span of 30 years I have acquired insights on how to navigate such a big meeting. When I say big, I mean over 14,000 attendees from over 100 countries swarming throughout a convention center that has the elements of the Texas state fair, a gigantic Costco (on Saturday), and a sold-out concert.

The PRECISION study will be presented on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 by Dr. Elaine Husni from the Cleveland Clinic. This report brings to a climax the controversy ignited by the February 2005 3 day FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee review of the safety of the blockbuster COX-2 inhibitors, celecoxib, rofecoxib, and valdecoxib.

At this years 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Pfizer will presen 20 abstracts, mostly centering around its JAK inhibitor tofacitinib (Xeljanz). They will also present the results of their Phase 3 OPAL studies of tofacitinib in patients with psoriatic arthritis.Their listing of presentations includes:XELJANZ in RAOral Presentations

Eli Lilly & Co. has multiple presentations planned for the upcoming Annual meeting of the ACR/ARHP in Washington starting on Sunday, November 13th.

Janssen has announced the listings for it's presentations at the upcoming annual ACR/ARHP 2016 meeting in Washington. Beyond the new data for Remicade, Simponi, Simponi Aria and Stelara, there will be numerous abstracts presented on products in development, including guselkumab (anti-IL-23) and sirukumab (anti-IL-6).

CreakyJoints will be presenting 5 Posters at the 2016 ACR/AHRP Annual Meeting. At the meeting they will also announce the publication of first-ever Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Guidelines. CreakyJoints.com is an impactful online source for more than 100,000 arthritis patients and their families worldwide who are seeking education, support, advocacy and patient-centered research.

Amgen has released the presentation times and locations for 21 abstracts to be presented at the ACR/ARHP 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington next week. Amgen's products to be presented include etanercept (Amgen), denosumab (Prolia), the anti-sclerostin agent romosozumab (developed with UCB), and its new FDA approved biosimilar of adalimumab called ABP 501 or Amjevita (adalimumab-atto).

At the upcoming 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Genentech will present 15 oral presentations from 17 abstracts relating to the use of tocilizumab and rituximab in a number of varied autoimmune conditions.Maybe the most important will be the findings from the GiACTA trial wherein tocilizumab (Actemra) is studied in patients with active giant cell arteritis (GCA). 

Crescendo Bioscience has announced that it will have 4 poster presentations at the American College of Rheumatology 2016 Annual Meeting next week.  These abstracts will feature research on Vectra® DA, a multi-biomarker disease activity (MDBA) assay intended to monitor and measure disease activity in patients with RA.These presentations include: 

The ACR Annual Meeting (#ACR16) is such a huge event that it’s worth your time to spend an hour or two planning your time at the meeting. Here's my tentative #ACR16 session schedule.

Dr. Jerome Greenberg from UCLA has published 10 tips and pearls (based on years of teaching and experience) on immunizations in an out-patient practice:

The International Osteoporosis Foundation has established the Chronic Inflammation and Bone Structure (CIBS) Working Group to address bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the role of biologic therapies. They conclude that early and aggressive treatment with biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs will help prevent progressive bone loss in patients with RA.

RA increases CV risk considerably. But whose responsibility is it to manage CV risk in RA patients?

Etanercept (Enbrel) received FDA approval Friday for use in children with moderate to severe, chronic plaque psoriasis.  Previously approved for adults with plaque psoriasis the new indication will be for chronic plaque psoriasis for those over age 4 years.  Etanercept is now the first systemic therapy approved to treat pediatric psoriasis patients (ages 4-17).

Flu season is upon us. While we try our best to vaccinate as many patients as possible, at times it can be challenging for reasons ranging from patient’s perceptions that the vaccine gives them the flu to others stating they are allergic to vaccine components. A patient with rheumatoid arthritis told me she has an egg allergy and cannot take the flu shot; what do I tell her?