axSpA

World AS Day 2024 - spotlighting the signs and symptoms of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): How ��ֳ� works with the axSpA community

Vandenbruaene Nathalie — Fri, 03 May 2024 12:12:03 +0000

World AS Day 2024 - spotlighting the signs and symptoms of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): How ��ֳ� works with the axSpA community

Zsófia Bakonyi, Patient Strategy Rheumatology

Vandenbruaene … Fri 03/05/2024 - 14:12

On World AS Day 2024, ��ֳ� reaffirms its commitment to supporting people living with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). This year's theme, "Signs and Symptoms", highlights the importance of early recognition and diagnosis, to positively impact the lives of those affected by this chronic inflammatory disease through effective collaborations.

We are proud to work with organizations like the Axial Spondyloarthritis International Federation (ASIF) to raise awareness of AS to educate and engage patients and to support rheumatologists through medical education initiatives. axSpA can be very painful, with a significant, limiting impact on people’s mobility – yet the average time to diagnosis isn’t until seven years after symptom onset. Common symptoms include back pain, fatigue, stiffness worsening after inactivity, and associated conditions like uveitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Empowering patients to recognize and talk to their healthcare providers (HCPs) about these symptoms may help lead to earlier diagnoses and disease control, helping to prevent irreversible structural damage.

Through research, partnerships, and medical education, ��ֳ� strives to reduce the diagnostic delay for axSpA globally, acting on the findings of ASIF’s global ‘Delay to Diagnosis’ report. We will do this with partners like the UK’s National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS), through comprehensive public outreach and working with clinicians on axSpA MRI training programs, aiming to achieve their ambition of a ‘Gold Standard’ time to diagnosis of just one year for axSpA by 2025.

We are addressing other gaps in the rheumatology patient journey by supporting physicians through digital health platforms. In our FASTRAX program, we use new technologies to educate healthcare providers, with ambitions to reduce instances of primary care physicians not recognizing inflammatory pain; to prevent people living with axSpA from being lost through incorrect assessment and triage; and to improve access to expert rheumatology care.

Our Europe-wide Rheumacensus program is leading the way in elevating the standard of care for patients with axSpA by highlighting unmet care needs. We collaborate with HCPs, payors and patients themselves to gain a holistic view of the situation in rheumatology care and have reached consensus on areas requiring improvement. The results from this program have recently been published in Rheumatology and Therapy, laying a framework for rheumatologists to make real, positive changes in their clinics.

For HCPs specifically, we work with clinical experts to create a wealth of medical education resources like RheuMuseum, to support awareness of the clinical manifestations of axSpA among US HCPs, and the ��ֳ� Med Hub, a specialized platform that makes it easy for HCPs to stay aware of the latest advancements in immunology and find ready-to-use resources for their day-to-day practice.

On World AS Day and every day, ��ֳ� remains dedicated to serving the axSpA community through pioneering research, raising disease awareness, and amplifying patient voices.

solutions

315 Likes

Patients, partnerships and innovation – Exploring the future of rheumatology at EULAR 2023

Vanco Vlastimil (��ֳ� S.A.) — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 09:11:10 +0000

Patients, partnerships and innovation – Exploring the future of rheumatology at EULAR 2023

Athanasia Gkiouleka, Rheumatology Mission

Vanco Vlastimi… Thu 01/06/2023 - 11:11

The future of rheumatology presents a level of optimism we have not seen before, with innovation and science consistently improving the lives of people living with rheumatic diseases. This is clear to see at EULAR – the annual congress held by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology – held this month in Milan, Italy.

EULAR brings together experts from across the world to discuss the latest and greatest ground-breaking research in rheumatology across multiple diseases – many of which have remaining high unmet needs requiring effective solutions.

I’m excited to be part of the discussion in rheumatology alongside experts in the field. Here at ��ֳ�, we welcome the opportunity to transform the lives of people living with both immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and osteoporosis. At this year’s EULAR, we are presenting 23 abstracts that highlight not only our expanding rheumatology portfolio but also our enduring effort to advance care for diverse immune-mediated inflammatory conditions.

Our approach to supporting people living with chronic rheumatic diseases is centered on three things:

Patients – we deeply care about patients and want to understand their perspective, and so we listen and observe what they’re doing, what they need, what they want and what they hope for.
Partnerships – we partner with the medical community, patient organizations, payers and other stakeholders to offer the most appropriate solutions to improve patients’ lives.
Innovation – we are bold, not only in our science, our research, and our development, but we are also bold in how we connect to our patients’ world to deliver for them.

This approach underpins our entire rheumatology strategy and through our research, we push ourselves to address the prominent unmet needs of three key groups of people living with rheumatic diseases – our core populations for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), those living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and osteoporosis, and lastly, new populations of remaining high unmet need such as in fibromyalgia. We’re delighted to present new data across two of these areas at EULAR – our core populations of PsA and axSpA, and SLE.

Enhancing quality of life in PsA and axSpA

The evolution of our rheumatology portfolio enables us to deliver and expand value for people living with axSpA and PsA, to support a better quality of life. At EULAR we are excited to present data in active PsA. In addition to this, we are also presenting results from studies which explore potential new solutions to treat the full spectrum of axSpA (encompassing non-radiographic axSpA and ankylosing spondylitis).i,ii We’re hopeful that these results will take us a step closer to improving the lives of people living with PsA and axSpA.

Our innovative pipeline

Our pipeline is focused on driving scientific advancements in chronic autoimmune diseases where there is an extremely high unmet need and great potential to provide long-term value for patients. We are determined to help ease the burden of people suffering from diseases like SLE and provide them with new options.

The future

We are lucky to live in an era that allows us to deepen our understanding of rheumatic diseases and explore innovative and novel ways to support patients. We are committed to continuing our work with patients, organizations, and the medical community to reduce the time to diagnosis and support quicker access to biologic therapies alongside our innovative portfolio of products in order to build our offering and further help people live better lives.

For me, what I ultimately hope is that we will not stop until we find solutions for all patients, and I’m excited for what the future holds and the possibilities we will be able to explore.

about ucb

EULAR Rheumatology Patients Partnerships Innovation axSpA PsA SLE

375 Likes

Digital transformation: how technologies and digital innovation help us make a meaningful impact to people living with rheumatic diseases

Vanco Vlastimil (��ֳ� S.A.) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 07:51:06 +0000

Digital transformation: how technologies and digital innovation help us make a meaningful impact to people living with rheumatic diseases

John Ioannou, Global Medical Affairs Rheumatology

Vanco Vlastimi… Wed 16/11/2022 - 08:51

Innovation in rheumatology has made significant strides in recent years with more treatments available and improved patient outcomes. However, despite this progress, unmet needs persist with some people not achieving optimal care. To address remaining gaps and elevate care for people living with rheumatic conditions, we need to create strong partnerships with innovation at the core.

At ��ֳ�, we are proud of our longstanding commitment to support the evolving needs of the rheumatology ecosystem. By building on our expertise and over 30 years of research, we embrace the possibility of transforming the lives of people with rheumatic diseases – such as psoriatic arthritis (PsA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and osteoporosis.

To achieve our ambitious goals, we are constantly looking to improve our understanding of rheumatology diseases and advance patient care. We embed cutting-edge technologies and digital innovation into everyday patient care to deliver personalized patient experiences, help facilitate early intervention and reduce diagnosis time.

This type of innovation can be seen across our rheumatology business. In 2021, we outlicensed Bonebot, now known as “Flamingo”, – an AI technology used to detect the presence of “silent” or asymptomatic fractures in the spine – to ImageBiopsy Lab to integrate into its existing hospital platform to increase reporting of vertebral fractures caused by underlying osteoporosis. Worldwide, over 200 million people are affected by osteoporosis, resulting in more than 8.9 million fragility fractures each year. Despite its prevalence, 80% of individuals who have experienced at least one fracture because of osteoporosis are neither identified nor treated. Bonebot automatically assists in the identification of vertebral fractures, which frequently go unreported, during routine CT scans. By improving early fracture identification we’re helping to close the osteoporosis global treatment gap.

We are committed to creating value for patients, and digital transformation is an enabler to do this. Our FASTRAX program focuses on three leading digital health platforms and addresses three breakpoints in the patient journey: primary care physicians not recognizing inflammatory pain; patients being lost through incorrect assessment and triage; and inadequate access to expert rheumatology care. We are working with our partners to explore innovative treatment paradigms to double remission rates by 2030.

As the ultimate focus of everything we do, we work closely with patients to co-create solutions which put their needs at the center. As an example of this in progress, ��ֳ�’s patient-centered approach enabled the development of FATIGUE-PRO, a novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument to measure fatigue in people living with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Developed in tandem with patients, the instrument comprises three scales: physical fatigue, mental and cognitive fatigue, and susceptibility to fatigue and aims to improve the recording and management of fatigue.

In our quest to improve clinical understanding, we recently signed a research collaboration agreement with EUROSpA. EUROSpA is the largest European research scientific collaboration network with 16 European registries collecting data from people living with axSpA and PsA. This research agreement will focus on understanding the impact of an uncontrolled disease on patients across Europe in axSpA to identify and address the unmet needs patients face.

Our work doesn’t stop here. We know the value of working in collaboration and at ��ֳ� we’re committed to addressing some of the most complex challenges in healthcare. By maximizing the value of our trailblazing science, insights, and pipeline through partnerships we’re aiming to halve diagnosis time, increase remission rate and accelerate digital solutions. Together, we can make a bigger, more long-lasting impact on the future of rheumatology treatment and the lives of patients.

about ucb

rheumatology EUROSpA Bonebot FASTRAX Systemic lupus erythematosus axSpA

424 Likes

World AS Day: Enhancing the Patient Experience through Key Collaborations

eCMSadmin — Fri, 07 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

World AS Day: Enhancing the Patient Experience through Key Collaborations

Evangelia Pateraki, Patient Value Immunology & US Solutions

eCMSadmin Fri 07/05/2021 - 02:00

At ��ֳ�, we pride ourselves on working in a collaborative and transversal spirit across the value chain, both internally and externally to accelerate our solutions to people living with severe diseases. As we approach World AS Day on Saturday, May 8, an annual day dedicated to people with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), we want to highlight a few key partnerships that enable us come together in common cause, sharing ideas and working with purpose to make positive change for patients.

axSpA is a chronic, inflammatory disease, predominantly impacting the spine and sacroiliac joints. It can cause chronic inflammatory back pain that does not improve with rest, severe fatigue, restricted mobility, and disturbed sleep. The disease typically starts in late teens to mid-twenties, a critical period in terms of education and beginning a career path. Without early diagnosis, intervention and effective treatment, it can lead to significant disease progression and permanent disability. axSpA affects millions of people around the world and an accurate diagnosis may take 8-10 years from the initial symptom onset. Women often experience even longer delays to diagnosis than men.

In order to address the challenges that patients face in receiving a timely and accurate diagnosis, ��ֳ� has been closely collaborating with several axSpA patient organizations, including NASS (National Axial Spondylarthritis Society) and ASIF (Axial Spondyloarthritis International Federation).

In the UK, we are proud to collaborate in the development and launch of the NASS Gold Standard Time to Diagnosis Project. This is the world’s first initiative to set a Gold Standard for the diagnosis of axSpA. It aims to reduce the average time for diagnosis from eight-and-a-half years in the UK to just one. This ambitious goal would reduce long term burden and be a huge win in the patient’s journey in this disease.

Dale Webb, CEO of NASS recently said, “The average time to diagnosis for axSpA has not improved in the UK despite the development of national clinical guidance and the recognition of the utility of MRI in diagnosis. We are in danger of normalising this situation unless bold and urgent action is taken. No-one should be locked out of life because of diagnostic delay. An earlier diagnosis will enable people to live happy, healthy and productive lives, reduce the risk of complications, and reduce healthcare costs, by allowing them access to effective therapy.”

��ֳ� and ASIF have partnered on the development and international roll-out of Delay to Diagnosis (D2D). Through this program ASIF aims to reduce the average time to diagnosis as well as raise awareness about the disease and detrimental effects of the delay, physically, psychologically and economically. ASIF will do this by collaborating with researchers and community members, creating an axSpA Global Burden Statement, so that health systems can be improved and disparities can be eliminated. The program will build awareness and advocacy tools for use world-wide to reduce the delay to diagnosis for axSpA patients wherever they live. Michael Mallinson from ASIF commented, "Earlier diagnosis and treatment lead to better patient outcomes including remission. This is why this project is so important".

��ֳ� is committed to supporting the axSpA community through purposeful partnerships that empower patients, raise awareness, and improve axSpA patient care and outcomes.

About ASIF (Axial Spondyloarthritis International Federation)
ASIF is a global umbrella organisation established to increase awareness of Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and related conditions. It aims to disseminate knowledge of the disease around the world to key stakeholders including patients, rheumatologists and other health care professionals, researchers, pharmaceutical organisations, policy makers and the general public.

About NASS (National Axial Spondylarthritis Society)

NASS seeks to transform the diagnosis and care of people living with axial SpA. They campaign policy makers for early diagnosis and better services and work with the NHS to get axial SpA identified and diagnosed quickly. They are determined that everyone receives effective care. They build an active community, making sure people with axial SpA get the latest information and the support they need to tackle living with this condition, online and through local branches across the UK. Axial SpA may work silently. But they don’t.

solutions

World AS Day National Axial Spondylarthritis Society axSpA Axial Spondyloarthritis International Federation

718 Likes

axSpA

World AS Day 2024 - spotlighting the signs and symptoms of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): How ��ֳ� works with the axSpA community

Leave a Comment

Patients, partnerships and innovation – Exploring the future of rheumatology at EULAR 2023

Leave a Comment

Digital transformation: how technologies and digital innovation help us make a meaningful impact to people living with rheumatic diseases

Leave a Comment

World AS Day: Enhancing the Patient Experience through Key Collaborations

Leave a Comment

axSpA

World AS Day 2024 - spotlighting the signs and symptoms of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): How ������ֳ� works with the axSpA community

Leave a Comment

Patients, partnerships and innovation – Exploring the future of rheumatology at EULAR 2023

Leave a Comment

Digital transformation: how technologies and digital innovation help us make a meaningful impact to people living with rheumatic diseases

Leave a Comment

World AS Day: Enhancing the Patient Experience through Key Collaborations

Leave a Comment

World AS Day 2024 - spotlighting the signs and symptoms of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): How ��ֳ� works with the axSpA community