RheumaView Education Series · Cascade
Sjögren’s Syndrome: from dryness to disease modification
For decades, Sjögren’s had no approved therapy that touched the disease itself — only its symptoms. That’s beginning to change. This short film walks through the unmet need, the mechanism, and the agents now in late-stage trials.
What the film covers
A guided route through the science — the same path a clinician takes from the patient in front of them to the biology behind the next generation of treatment.
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More than dry eyes and dry mouth
Sicca is only the surface. Sjögren’s is systemic — fatigue, joint pain, neuropathy, and a real lymphoma risk ride alongside it.
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What we can offer today
Tears, secretagogues, hydroxychloroquine, and borrowed immunosuppressants. Useful, but symptom-directed — and none approved for the disease.
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The unmet need is the whole disease
No disease-modifying therapy, biomarkers that drift from how patients feel, and a systemic burden overshadowed by the dryness.
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Why the gland is destroyed
Lymphocytes infiltrate the glands; BAFF keeps autoreactive B cells alive when they should die off, and a type-I interferon loop sustains the attack.
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Interrupting the conversation CD40–CD40L
Costimulation blockade cuts the dialogue between T and B cells — the axis behind iscalimab and dazodalibep, with positive late-stage signals.
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Going after BAFF directly BAFF-R
Ianalumab does two things at once: blocks the BAFF receptor and depletes the B cell — now advancing in late-stage trials, with JAK and interferon close behind.
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A crowded pipeline, at last
After decades of nothing, several mechanisms are converging. If even one reaches approval, it would be the first true disease-modifying therapy the condition has had.
The interactive modules behind it
Each mechanism in the film is built out as a step-by-step Cascade module — mechanism walkthrough, comprehension checks, and a guided path through the evidence.
anti-BAFF-R
B-cell survival blockade paired with ADCC depletion.
anti-CD40L
Costimulation blockade — non-depleting, T–B axis.
CD19 × FcγRIIb
Inhibitory co-engagement that silences without depleting.
Currently in closed preview
Request access to the modules
The interactive Sjögren’s series is open to Medical Affairs, MedComms, and sponsored-content partners on request.
contact_us@rheumaview.comThis educational material discusses investigational agents that have not been approved by FDA, EMA, or any regulatory agency. Efficacy and safety profiles are based on currently available trial data and are subject to change. For healthcare-professional education only. Not for promotional use.