By Janet Church, President and CEO, Sjögren's Foundation
When Kathy Hammitt, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Sjögren’s Foundation, and I arrived at McCormick Place in Chicago for the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence Conference, we both stopped in our tracks.
Sjögren’s was everywhere!
Digital billboards lit up the Wintrust Arena next door. Buses were wrapped with bold messaging about Sjögren’s. Elevator doors and escalator walls were covered in ads highlighting the systemic nature of the disease. And there were more Sjögren’s sessions and symposia scheduled than ever before.
In that moment, Kathy, who is also a Sjögren’s patient, and I just looked at each other and cried. It was overwhelming to see Sjögren’s represented so prominently after years of hard work and advocacy. For decades, we’ve pushed for greater awareness and recognition of this complex disease, and this year it felt like the world was finally catching up.
For the first time ever at this conference, Sjögren’s was not tucked into side sessions or smaller discussions. It was part of the main stage conversation! There were CME-accredited sessions, scientific sessions, multiple abstract and poster sessions on Sjögren’s, and even a late-breaking data session that drew significant attention. The visibility and engagement around Sjögren’s showed just how far the field has come and how much momentum is building for the future.
The Energy Around Sjögren’s
Novartis highlighted the systemic nature of Sjögren’s through its ad campaign.
This year, the interest in Sjögren’s was unmistakable.
Our team had hundreds of conversations at the Sjögren’s Foundation booth, sharing professional resources, educational materials, and upcoming opportunities like our State of Sjögren’s professional event in January. Researchers, clinicians, and other advocacy groups from around the world stopped by, eager to connect and collaborate.
The excitement extended far beyond our booth. Some of our corporate members (the pharmaceutical and biotech companies that work with us) presented their Sjögren’s therapy pipeline in their booths. Sjögren’s was reflected in the conversations, the sessions, and the data being shared across the field. Novartis presented positive phase 3 clinical trial results, and because they are preparing to present their therapy to the FDA, they invested heavily in promoting Sjögren’s (it is Novartis that promoted on the buses, the Wintrust Arena, and the elevator doors). Johnson & Johnson also contributed to the growing momentum with positive phase 2 results, published in The Lancet.
Filling Two Ballrooms: Our PNS Clinical Practice Guidelines Session
One of my favorite moments from the week was our session on the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) Clinical Practice Guidelines, which we hope will be published soon.
ACR anticipated strong interest, assigning us a ballroom that seated 300 people. It filled up before the session even started. They opened the ballroom next door, and that one filled up too!
Everywhere I looked, people were snapping photos of slides and taking notes. The line for questions stretched across the room as Dr. Scofield and Dr. Varadhachary, two of the authors on the guidelines and the session presenters, with Dr. Dana DiRenzo and Dr. Jennifer Grossman moderating, fielded thoughtful inquiries and comments. And a special thanks goes to Dr. Jennifer King who was the driving force behind making this symposium happen. It was incredible to witness.
Highlights of the Week
Throughout the week, the Foundation team connected with hundreds of doctors and researchers who visited our booth to learn more about our programs, professional education opportunities, and clinical practice guidelines.
We also hosted a full-room luncheon that previewed findings from our Living with Sjögren’s Patient Survey and shared updates on the rapidly growing number of clinical trials and the future of endpoints for clinical trials. Nearly 100 researchers and clinicians attended.
Kathy Hammitt shared her story alongside Dr. Alan Kivitz’s presentation on Sjögren’s, during the session “Addressing the Heterogeneity of Sjögren’s,” supported by Amgen. In the expo hall, Matt Makara, Senior Director of Research and Scientific Affairs, gave a five-minute Lightning Talk to attendees on the recent nomenclature updates published in Nature Reviews Rheumatology, showing the fast adoption of “Sjögren’s Disease” (replacing Sjögren’s Syndrome).
Foundation-authored posters on central nervous system manifestations helped advance important conversations about how the disease affects the body. The patient perspective on living with Sjögren’s disease was also on display through a poster authored by Casey Hogan in collaboration with the Foundation.
Dr. Arun S. Varadhachary, MD, PhD, walks through a poster that highlights the proportion and types of central nervous system (CNS) manifestations observed in individuals with Sjögren’s disease.
Interest in Sjögren’s was also reflected in the sold-out “Meet the Professor” sessions with Sjögren’s disease experts and scientific programs such as “Decoding Sjögren’s Disease: Adaptive Immunity Driving Pathogenesis.”
There were also numerous abstracts presented on Sjögren’s as part of three separate poster sessions and one oral abstract session titled “Sjögren’s Disease – Basic and Clinical Science,”highlighting the continued growth of scientific interest and research activity around the disease.
We Are at an Inflection Point
Everywhere we turned, it was clear that interest and knowledge in Sjögren’s was shifting. I’ve been speaking about the coming ‘inflection point’ for Sjögren’s for almost five years now…and IT IS HERE! Researchers are asking better questions and digging deeper…beyond dryness. Industry is leaning in and showing real long-term commitment. Doctors are paying closer attention and genuinely wanting to learn more about the full patient experience and the impact to quality of life.
Leaving Chicago, I felt both joy and responsibility. The excitement is real, but so is our commitment to keep pushing. We have miles to go but we are doing everything we can to move the needle forward. The momentum is here, and it is ours to carry.
The future for Sjögren’s is not someday. It is happening right now.
By Janet Church, President and CEO, Sjögren's Foundation
When Kathy Hammitt, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Sjögren’s Foundation, and I arrived at McCormick Place in Chicago for the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence Conference, we both stopped in our tracks.
Sjögren’s was everywhere!
Digital billboards lit up the Wintrust Arena next door. Buses were wrapped with bold messaging about Sjögren’s. Elevator doors and escalator walls were covered in ads highlighting the systemic nature of the disease. And there were more Sjögren’s sessions and symposia scheduled than ever before.
In that moment, Kathy, who is also a Sjögren’s patient, and I just looked at each other and cried. It was overwhelming to see Sjögren’s represented so prominently after years of hard work and advocacy. For decades, we’ve pushed for greater awareness and recognition of this complex disease, and this year it felt like the world was finally catching up.
For the first time ever at this conference, Sjögren’s was not tucked into side sessions or smaller discussions. It was part of the main stage conversation! There were CME-accredited sessions, scientific sessions, multiple abstract and poster sessions on Sjögren’s, and even a late-breaking data session that drew significant attention. The visibility and engagement around Sjögren’s showed just how far the field has come and how much momentum is building for the future.
The Energy Around Sjögren’s
This year, the interest in Sjögren’s was unmistakable.
Our team had hundreds of conversations at the Sjögren’s Foundation booth, sharing professional resources, educational materials, and upcoming opportunities like our State of Sjögren’s professional event in January. Researchers, clinicians, and other advocacy groups from around the world stopped by, eager to connect and collaborate.
The excitement extended far beyond our booth. Some of our corporate members (the pharmaceutical and biotech companies that work with us) presented their Sjögren’s therapy pipeline in their booths. Sjögren’s was reflected in the conversations, the sessions, and the data being shared across the field. Novartis presented positive phase 3 clinical trial results, and because they are preparing to present their therapy to the FDA, they invested heavily in promoting Sjögren’s (it is Novartis that promoted on the buses, the Wintrust Arena, and the elevator doors). Johnson & Johnson also contributed to the growing momentum with positive phase 2 results, published in The Lancet.
Filling Two Ballrooms: Our PNS Clinical Practice Guidelines Session
One of my favorite moments from the week was our session on the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) Clinical Practice Guidelines, which we hope will be published soon.
ACR anticipated strong interest, assigning us a ballroom that seated 300 people. It filled up before the session even started. They opened the ballroom next door, and that one filled up too!
Everywhere I looked, people were snapping photos of slides and taking notes. The line for questions stretched across the room as Dr. Scofield and Dr. Varadhachary, two of the authors on the guidelines and the session presenters, with Dr. Dana DiRenzo and Dr. Jennifer Grossman moderating, fielded thoughtful inquiries and comments. And a special thanks goes to Dr. Jennifer King who was the driving force behind making this symposium happen. It was incredible to witness.
Highlights of the Week
We Are at an Inflection Point
Everywhere we turned, it was clear that interest and knowledge in Sjögren’s was shifting. I’ve been speaking about the coming ‘inflection point’ for Sjögren’s for almost five years now…and IT IS HERE! Researchers are asking better questions and digging deeper…beyond dryness. Industry is leaning in and showing real long-term commitment. Doctors are paying closer attention and genuinely wanting to learn more about the full patient experience and the impact to quality of life.
Leaving Chicago, I felt both joy and responsibility. The excitement is real, but so is our commitment to keep pushing. We have miles to go but we are doing everything we can to move the needle forward. The momentum is here, and it is ours to carry.
The future for Sjögren’s is not someday. It is happening right now.