PMR and PsA and SSc… Oh my! So much innovation discussed earlier this month at the mammoth rheumatology scientific congress of EULAR – the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, in London, England. During days of wet and dark skies, EULAR 2026 was lit up with bright insights on rheumatology science and the business of conducting rheumatology clinical trials. Indero’s rheumatology experts were among the almost 15,000 people at the congress.
At an investigator advisory board the first day of the congress, Indero executives sat down with experienced European rheumatology investigators and KOLs including Prof. Dr. Filip Van den Bosch, Head of Rheumatology Clinic & Senior Lecturer, Ghent University, Prof. Dr. Laura Andreoli, Centre for Expertise in Rheumatology, Danish Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases; and Dr. Janusz Jaworski, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Reumatika – Centrum Reumatologii and Centrum Medyczne Reuma Park, both in Warsaw.
The meeting gathered investigators’ candid feedback on the CRO-site interface. Under the theme of “designing trials that work for sites,” topics included operational challenges, protocol burdens, patient recruitment and retention barriers, process bottlenecks, and assessment quality, with the goal of enhancing trial execution and site experience.
Rheumatology Crosses Dermatology
Sessions addressing the intersection of rheumatology and dermatology included difficult skin manifestations in myositis, presented by Hanna Brauner, clinical dermatologist & Associate Professor in Immunology, Karolinska Institutet.
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was the subject of many presentations, including Dr. Laura Coates, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Professor, Oxford University, on the impact of new studies looking at early intensive therapy in PsA. Prof. Van den Bosch (shown here) participated in a debate on similarities and differences between PsA and peripheral spondyloarthritis (pSpA) with implications for diagnosis, research, and treatment decisions.
Other sessions highlighted by EULAR:
- Many systemic sclerosis (SSc) presentations including: difficult to treat GI manifestations; and a plenary on deciphering pathogenesis, unveiling comorbidities & paving the way for targeted treatment.
- Examining mechanistic links between environmental exposures (pollution, poverty, dust) and immune dysregulation, and assessing how inequalities shape patient care and research priorities.
- Future research directions and strategies for managing and overcoming CAR-T failure.
Patient Research Partners
Sessions dedicated to People with Arthritis/Rheumatism in Europe (PARE), Health Professionals in Rheumatology (HPR) and The Emerging EULAR Network (EMEUNET) featured throughout the congress. An exciting current development is the INSPIRE initiative implementing EULAR’s updated recommendations to involve Patient Research Partners (PRPs) in rheumatology research across all EULAR- affiliated countries. European PRPs are often involved across the life of clinical research, including reviewing trial protocols and giving feedback to sponsors.
Indero had a meeting with a EULAR executive who was excited to learn more about our work in rheumatology clinical research. As well at EULAR 2026, we advanced our collaboration with the World Scleroderma Foundation in Indero’s support for the WSF SHIELD platform trial, a randomized, double-blind, adaptive platform clinical trial designed to evaluate multiple investigational medicinal products (IMPs) for patients with a very early diagnosis of SSc.
Indero was all in at EULAR 2026: L to R: Dr. Juan Ovalles, Senior Director, Rheumatology; Jeff Smith, CEO; Pina D’Angelo, Global Head, Data & Regulatory Sciences; Pedro Rosés Diaz de Rada, Executive Director, Project Management; Faiza Tayar, Manager, Site Selection; Dr. Jasmina Jankicevic, Chief Medical & Scientific Officer; Danuta Stachon, Clinical Trial Manager II; Monika Majewicz, Business Development Associate; Mateusz Kozuch, Director, Country Strategy & Expert Engagement; and Ekaterina Radchenko, Senior Project Manager.
Listen to a podcast with Ekaterina Radchenko on her EULAR 2026 experience!
