Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Landscape in Midst of “Very Good Storm,” Expert Says

Autoimmune disease is an umbrella term for 105 diseases that affect more than 15 million people in the United States, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

While none of these diseases currently have a cure, research is advancing on pre-symptomatic markers, genetic mechanisms and mechanistic pathways to develop targeted therapies, according to Veena Joy, the U.S. Lead for Strategic Partnerships, Allergy and Autoimmunity at Thermo Fisher Scientific, who recently sat down for an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive. 

Joy placed particular emphasis on the importance of biomarkers, specifically for seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Between 20% and 30% of RA patients are seronegative, meaning that blood tests will show up negative for RA, potentially leading to misdiagnoses or altogether missed diagnoses.

Autoimmune diseases are complex; the idea of finding a cure for any of them within the next couple decades is daunting, but not impossible, Joy said.

“I think we're sitting in a very good storm,” Joy said. "I don't want to say the perfect storm just yet, but we've got AI and we've got brilliant people working on this. I think a core component of this is going to be finding strategic scientific pathways to better understand the disease and collaboration.”