EULAR 2026: Expert Interviews and Late Breakers to Watch

The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) convenes its 2026 Annual Congress from June 3 to 6 at ExCeL London, and the scientific programme arrives at a moment of considerable momentum across the field. The meeting will feature over 170 scientific sessions covering basic, translational, and clinical science, as well as interactive hands-on sessions. This year's gathering reflects a specialty in the midst of a meaningful therapeutic expansion: head-to-head superiority trials have begun to reshape the psoriatic arthritis treatment landscape, JAK inhibitors are extending their reach into new indications like giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica, and cell therapy approaches developed in oncology are rapidly moving into autoimmune disease. Meanwhile, the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pipeline, long characterized by late-stage failure, is producing positive signals across novel mechanisms — FcRn blockade, mTOR inhibition, and NK cell therapy among them.

The RheumatologyLive editorial team will be on site at the conference, providing written coverage of practice-shifting data as well as interviews with key experts. You can keep up with our comprehensive conference coverage here. Check out what can be expected from this year’s meeting below:

Click here to check out the Joint Ventures podcast preview of hosts’ Jack Arnolds, MBBS, PhD, and Rihards Buss, MD, most anticipated sessions and data readouts.

Expert Interviews

Philip J. Mease, MD — Providence Swedish Medical Center (Seattle), who will discuss the week 52 durability data from the phase 2b/3 trial of izokibep in active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), as well as real-world comparative joint effectiveness data from the Adelphi Disease Specific Programme evaluating risankizumab versus TNF inhibitors and IL-17 inhibitors in biologic-naïve PsA patients.

Background Info: Izokibep is an Affibody molecule designed to selectively inhibit IL-17A with high potency; it is roughly one-tenth the size of a monoclonal antibody and incorporates an albumin-binding domain to reach difficult-to-treat tissues with improved pharmacokinetic properties. The global, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2b/3 trial enrolled 351 adults with active PsA and met its primary endpoint of ACR50 at week 16 with high statistical significance, with responses particularly notable for endpoints including ACR70, PASI100, and minimal disease activity. The EULAR presentation will extend that readout to 52 weeks.

Laura C. Coates, MD, PhD — University of Oxford, who will discuss the phase 3b TOGETHER-PsA trial evaluating concomitant ixekizumab and tirzepatide in adults with psoriatic arthritis and obesity or overweight.

Background Info: Approximately 65% of adults with PsA in the US also have obesity or overweight with at least one additional weight-related comorbidity, a disease burden that is difficult to treat and often associated with poorer clinical outcomes — major treatment guidelines recommend management of obesity as part of comprehensive PsA care. In the TOGETHER-PsA trial, combination ixekizumab and tirzepatide met the primary endpoint of simultaneously achieving ACR50 and ≥10% weight reduction at 36 weeks, with tirzepatide delivering a 64% relative increase in the proportion of patients achieving ACR50 compared to ixekizumab alone (33.5% vs. 20.4%).

Anisha Dua, MD — Northwestern University, who will discuss 2-year outcomes by disease onset type from the SELECT-GCA phase 3 trial of upadacitinib in giant cell arteritis.

Background Info: GCA currently has only one approved glucocorticoid-sparing agent — tocilizumab — and glucocorticoid toxicity in this predominantly older patient population represents a significant clinical burden. Two-year data from SELECT-GCA, previously previewed at the 2026 International Vasculitis Workshop, suggest upadacitinib can maintain disease remission over the longer term; the EULAR presentation will add a subgroup breakdown comparing responses in new-onset versus relapsing disease.

Emanuel Della Torre, MD — IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital (Milan), who will discuss the phase 3 INDIGO trial of obexelimab, a B cell inhibitor, in IgG4-related disease.

Background Info: Obexelimab uses a novel mechanism of action, targeting CD19 and FcγRIIb on B cells to inhibit their activity without depleting them — in contrast to rituximab, which depletes B cells, and with potential advantages including subcutaneous rather than intravenous administration. In the 194-patient INDIGO trial, obexelimab met the primary endpoint with a highly statistically significant 56% reduction in the risk of IgG4-RD flare compared to placebo over 52 weeks, and also met all four key secondary endpoints including reduction in flares requiring rescue therapy and increased rates of complete remission.

Xenofon Baraliakos, MD — Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet (Herne), who will discuss clinical and imaging outcomes from the phase 2 S-OLARIS trial of sonelokimab, an IL-17A/F-inhibiting Nanobody, in axial spondyloarthritis, including 18F-NaF PET and MRI findings.

Background Info: Sonelokimab is a humanized Nanobody — a small-format biologic derived from camelid heavy-chain antibodies — that inhibits both IL-17A and IL-17F by neutralizing the IL-17A/A, IL-17A/F, and IL-17F/F dimers implicated in inflammatory and osteoproliferative pathways. In the phase 2 S-OLARIS trial, more than 80% of patients achieved ASAS40 by week 12, while PET/MRI imaging data showed significant reduction in inflammation and osteoblast activity deep in affected joints by week 12, raising the possibility of disease modification.

Latebreakers to Watch

1. Bimekizumab Efficacy & Safety Versus Risankizumab in Patients With Active Psoriatic Arthritis: 16-Week Results From a Head-to-Head, Multicentre, Randomised, Phase 3B Study (BE BOLD)

Presentation Time: Saturday, June 6 — 12:00–12:10 BST

Presenter: Joseph F. Merola, MD

BE BOLD is the first head-to-head study to evaluate an IL-17A/F inhibitor versus an IL-23 inhibitor in active PsA, testing the hypothesis that bimekizumab will be superior to risankizumab in joint efficacy by blocking IL-17A/F derived from both IL-23–dependent and –independent sources. Week 16 results showed 49.1% of bimekizumab-treated patients achieved ACR50 compared with 38.4% receiving risankizumab, marking the first time an approved biologic has demonstrated statistically significant superiority in joint outcomes in a direct head-to-head PsA comparison.

2. AB-101, an Outpatient-Administered Allogeneic NK Cell Therapy Combined With Rituximab, Generates Robust Clinical Efficacy Responses Comparable With Autologous CAR T in 31 Patients With Rheumatologic Diseases

Presentation Time: Saturday, June 6 — 12:20–12:30 BST

Presenter: Norman Gaylis, MD

AB-101 (AlloNK) is an allogeneic, off-the-shelf NK cell therapy designed to enhance antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity against B cells, with proposed advantages over CAR T approaches including the absence of graft-versus-host disease, cytokine release syndrome, and the need for HLA matching. Across 31 rheumatology patients treated with AlloNK plus rituximab, 71% of those with refractory RA achieved ACR50 at ≥6 months follow-up with no relapses or new immunomodulatory agents; Artiva describes the B cell depletion as comparable in depth to CD19 CAR T cell therapy.

3. Baricitinib for Remission Induction and Glucocorticoid Sparing in New-Onset Polymyalgia Rheumatica (JAK-SPARE): A Phase III Randomized Controlled Trial

Presentation Time: Saturday, June 6 — 12:40–12:50 BST

Presenter: Helga Lechner-Radner, MD

Polymyalgia rheumatica is managed almost exclusively with glucocorticoids, which carry significant toxicity in an older patient population; no targeted therapy is approved for this indication. Earlier proof-of-concept came from the small, double-blind BACHELOR trial, in which 78% of baricitinib-treated patients with early PMR achieved low disease activity at week 12 without oral glucocorticoids, compared with 13% of those receiving placebo. JAK-SPARE is the definitive phase 3 test of whether that signal holds at scale.

4. Efficacy and Safety of Sirolimus in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Presentation Time: Saturday, June 6 — 12:50–13:00 BST

Presenter: Liying Peng, MD

SLE is characterized by T-cell dysfunction attributed to aberrant activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and open-label phase 1/2 data showed progressive improvement in disease activity associated with correction of pro-inflammatory T-cell lineage specification over 12 months of sirolimus treatment. The presentation from Peking Union Medical College Hospital delivers the first double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 evidence for mTOR inhibition in active SLE — a trial investigators previously argued was necessary before mTOR blockade could be adopted clinically.

5. Nipocalimab in SLE: First-in-Class Efficacy and Safety Results Demonstrating Proof of Concept for FcRn Blockade From the Phase 2 JASMINE-SLE Study

Presentation Time: Saturday, June 6 — 13:00–13:10 BST

Presenter: Richard A. Furie, MD

Nipocalimab is an FcRn blocker that, by reducing circulating IgG levels, targets the pathogenic autoantibodies driving SLE — an approach distinct from cytokine inhibition or B cell depletion. In the 228-patient, dose-ranging phase 2b JASMINE trial, nipocalimab met its primary endpoint of SRI-4 response at week 24 compared with placebo and multiple key secondary and exploratory endpoints, including signals supporting steroid sparing — marking the first positive clinical data for an FcRn blocker in active SLE.