Welcome to
the Rheumatology Newsroom
Below, please find the latest data, content, news and leadership messages about our progress and commitment to developing transformational approaches and innovative medicines for diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), Sjögren’s disease (SjD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM).
To read more about Johnson & Johnson’s progress and accomplishments in other Immunology disease areas, please explore our Gastroenterology, Immunodermatology, and Maternal-Fetal Newsrooms.
At Johnson & Johnson, we are relentlessly driven to make a difference in the lives of patients and families impacted by immune-mediated diseases. This commitment includes autoantibody diseases, which are caused by pathogenic antibodies made by one’s own body that attack critical organs and tissues. Nearly 240 million people worldwide suffer from severe autoantibody diseases, many without safe, effective treatments.
Our approach to targeting immune-mediated and autoantibody diseases illustrates the power of Johnson & Johnson’s pathway-centric development strategy. With this strategy, we identify diseases driven by a common immune pathway, then pursue targeted novel medicines that can differentially modulate that pathway, enabling us to impact many diseases with a single therapy. Such insights are helping us to expand the development of medicines more rapidly and effectively, unlocking opportunities to revolutionize the immunology treatment paradigm.
Keeping patients at the center of everything we do, we are committed to tirelessly pushing the boundaries of science to deliver innovative and transformational therapeutic approaches that restore immune balance and improve the lives of patients and their families.
Rheumatology Disease Area Leader
About Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, symmetric, inflammatory disease involving the synovial joints, where bone and cartilage erosion lead to irreversible joint damage.1 Despite advancements in treatments, 20 to 30 percent of patients living with RA experience refractory RA, or resistance to current therapies.2 RA is the most common inflammatory arthritis and affects an estimated 13 million people worldwide and it is estimated that 1.5 million people in the United States are affected by RA.3, 4 RA disproportionately affects more women than men, often striking during childbearing years.5
About Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, heterogeneous, immune-mediated inflammatory disease—people living with PsA can exhibit peripheral joint inflammation, enthesitis (pain where the bone, tendon and ligament meet), dactylitis (severe inflammation of the finger and toe joints), axial disease, and the skin lesions associated with psoriasis (PsO).17,18,19 In addition, in patients with PsA, comorbidities such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, anxiety and depression are often present.20 Studies show up to 30 percent of people with PsO also develop PsA.21 The disease causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints; it commonly appears between the ages of 30 and 50, but can develop at any time.21 Nearly half of patients with PsA experience moderate fatigue and about 30 percent suffer from severe fatigue as measured by the modified fatigue severity scale.22 Although the exact cause of PsA is unknown, genes, the immune system and environmental factors are all believed to play a role in disease onset.23
About Sjögren’s disease
Sjögren’s disease is an immune system disorder identified by its two most common symptoms — dry eyes and a dry mouth. This condition often accompanies other immune system disorders, such as RA and lupus. In Sjögren’s disease, the mucous membranes and moisture-secreting glands of the eyes and mouth are usually affected first — resulting in decreased tears and saliva.6
About Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common type of lupus, a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, heart, lungs, kidneys and the brain.7 SLE can range from mild to severe and is characterized by inflammation of any organ system including kidneys, nervous system, brain or brain vasculature, as well as potential hardening of the arteries or coronary artery disease.8 This disease most often affects women and disproportionately affects women of African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American descent, compared to Caucasian women.9 Lupus is estimated to affect at least 1.5 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide.
About Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IMM) includes a heterogeneous group of rare, idiopathic, autoimmune, inflammatory diseases that have muscle inflammation as a common characteristic.10 The causes of these diseases are undetermined.11 This burdensome group of diseases has muscular and extra-muscular impacts that have a profound effect on a patient’s quality of life. These diseases are characterized by progressive weakness, swelling, and damage in muscles and joints throughout the body and can impact major organs, including the skin.12
References:
1Aletaha D., Smolen, J. S. Diagnosis and Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Review. JAMA. 2018 Oct;320(13):1360-1372. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30285183/. Accessed June 2023.
2Smolen, J.S., et al. EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2019 update. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020 Jun;79(6):685-699. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31969328/. Accessed June 2023.
3Cieza, A., et al. Global estimates of the need for rehabilitation based on the Global Burden of Disease study 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020 Dec;396(10267):2006-2017. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32340-0/fulltext. Accessed June 2023.
4World Health Organization. The Global Burden of Disease: 2004 update. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43942/9789241563710_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. Accessed June 2023.
5Chew, C., et al. “r/Thritis”, Pregnancy, and Parenting: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Reddit Forums to Explore Information Needs and Concerns of Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2019 Aug;1(8):485-492. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335179676_rThritis_Pregnancy_and_Parenting_A_Qualitative_Descriptive_Study_of_Reddit_Forums_to_Explore_Information_Needs_and_Concerns_of_Women_With_Rheumatoid_Arthritis. Accessed June 2023.
6Donvito, T. What Is Enthesitis? The Painful Arthritis Symptom You Should Know About. CreakyJoints. Available at: https://creakyjoints.org/living-with-arthritis/symptoms/what-is-enthesitis/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CEnthesitis%20is%20inflammation%20of%20the,pain%20sometimes%20accompanied%20by%20swelling.%E2%80%9D. Accessed June 2023.
7Donvito, T. What Is Dactylitis? The ‘Sausage Finger’ Swelling You Should Know About. CreakyJoints. Available at: https://creakyjoints.org/symptoms/what-is-dactylitis/. Accessed June 2023.
8Belasco, J., Wei, N. Psoriatic Arthritis: What is Happening at the Joint? Rheumatology and Therapy. 2019 May;6(3):305–315. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40744-019-0159-1. Accessed June 2023.
9Haddad, A., Zisman, D. Comorbidities in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis. Rambam Maimonides Med J. 2017 Jan;8(1):e0004. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28178440/. Accessed June 2023.
10Psoriatic Arthritis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment. National Psoriasis Foundation. Available at: https://www.psoriasis.org/about-psoriatic-arthritis/. Accessed June 2023.
11Husted, J. A., et al. Occurrence and correlates of fatigue in psoriatic arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 68(10):1553–1558. Available at: https://ard.bmj.com/content/68/10/1553. Accessed June 2023.
12Cassell, S., Kavanaugh, A. Psoriatic arthritis: Pathogenesis and novel immunomodulatory approaches to treatment. Journal of Immune Based Therapies and Vaccines. 2005 Sept;3(6). Available at: https://jibtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-8518-3-6. Accessed June 2023.
13Mayo Clinic. Sjogren’s Syndrome. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sjogrens-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353216. Accessed June 2023.
14Mayo Clinic. Lupus. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/basics/definition/con-20019676. Accessed June 2023.
15Lupus Foundation of America. The four different types of lupus. Available at: https://resources.lupus.org/entry/types-of-lupus. Accessed June 2023.
16Lupus Research Alliance. About Lupus. Available at: http://www.lupusresearch.org/understanding-lupus/what-is-lupus/about-lupus. Accessed June 2023.
17Lupus Foundation of America. Lupus facts and statistics. Available at: https://www.lupus.org/resources/lupus-facts-and-statistics. Accessed June 2023.
18Malik, A., et al. Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies: Clinical Approach and Management. Front Neurol. 2016 May;7:64. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27242652/. Accessed June 2023.
19Medline Plus. Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/idiopathic-inflammatory-myopathy/#frequency. Accessed June 2023.
20Cho, S., et al. Incidence and Prevalence of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies in Korea: A Nationwide Population-based Study. J Korean Med Sci. 2019 Feb 8;34(8):e55. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30833879/. Accessed June 2023.