Exton, PA, Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Updated findings from the Q4 2025 Market Dynamix™: SLE, Pipeline Refresh reveal a maturing and increasingly stratified development landscape, as US rheumatologists move from broad enthusiasm toward more selective, indication-driven expectations for late-stage assets. Compared with earlier 2025 results, physicians now demonstrate greater clarity around where individual mechanisms are most likely to fit, with enthusiasm consolidating around a smaller set of perceived leaders and softening for assets with less differentiated value propositions.
Across the pipeline, Gazyva (obinutuzumab, Roche/Genentech), Rinvoq (upadacitinib, AbbVie), and ianalumab (Novartis) continue to emerge as leading late-stage assets, though for distinct reasons. Gazyva’s recent approval in lupus nephritis has materially strengthened confidence in its broader SLE potential, with nearly half of rheumatologists anticipating that its availability would meaningfully reshape treatment pathways, particularly in patients with renal involvement and ongoing steroid dependence. Reactions to its target product profile highlight strong confidence in renal efficacy, steroid-sparing potential, and infrequent dosing, while longer-term safety experience and payer access remain the primary gating factors to broader adoption.
Across these leading assets, rheumatologists consistently estimate that roughly one in six to one in five moderate-to-severe SLE patients would be appropriate candidates, reinforcing expectations that future therapies will be deployed in targeted segments rather than broadly across the SLE population. This selective mindset reflects both growing therapeutic choice and a continued emphasis on matching mechanism to dominant disease manifestations.
Interest in oral advanced therapies remains high, but expectations have become more measured in the back half of 2025. Rinvoq maintains a strong position driven by physician familiarity and oral convenience, particularly for musculoskeletal-dominant disease; however, estimated patient candidacy has declined into the mid-teens compared with earlier 2025 as safety considerations associated with the JAK class continue to temper enthusiasm in a higher-risk lupus population. Similarly, perceptions of Sotyktu (deucravacitinib, Bristol Myers Squibb) remain positive but increasingly calibrated, with rheumatologists reassessing both the magnitude of clinical advance and the breadth of use.
By contrast, ianalumab (Novartis) continues to gain momentum, standing out for its combination of novel mechanism and broad perceived efficacy across SLE manifestations. Reactions to its target product profile suggest growing confidence that it could compete alongside established biologics rather than serve purely as an adjunctive option, positioning it as one of the more broadly applicable late-stage therapies in development.
At the same time, enthusiasm has moderated for several other mid-to-late-stage assets where differentiation is perceived as incremental. Litifilimab (Biogen) and dapirolizumab pegol (Biogen and UCB) remain of interest for their novel mechanisms, but physician reactions increasingly emphasize unanswered questions around long-term safety, durability of response, and comparative effectiveness, resulting in lower expected patient candidacy and more cautious anticipated uptake than earlier in 2025. Cenerimod (Idorsia) is generally viewed as a niche oral option, with limited perceived impact outside of select patient subgroups.
Taken together, the Q4 2025 SLE Pipeline Refresh (fielded just after the American College of Rheumatology conference where updates on many lupus assets were presented) highlights a robust and increasingly diverse development landscape, while also underscoring the inherent challenges of advancing new therapies in SLE, a disease historically marked by complex biology, heterogeneous presentation, and a high rate of late-stage clinical trial failure. As a result, rheumatologists approach the pipeline with cautious optimism, recognizing both the scientific progress underway and the practical hurdles that remain in bringing effective therapies to market. Even so, one conclusion is clear: while progress in SLE has historically been incremental, the current pipeline reflects a level of sustained innovation that has the potential to reshape future management.
In 2026, Spherix Global Insights will track the evolution of SLE through physician-based Market Dynamix™ research and large-scale patient audits. This effort will be complemented by expanded coverage of the lupus nephritis and cutaneous lupus erythematosus markets, as well as publication of a dedicated lupus patient study.
About Market Dynamix™
Market Dynamix™ is an independent service providing analysis of markets anticipated to experience a paradigm shift within the next three to five years. Insights highlight market size, current treatment approaches, unmet needs, and expert opinions on the likely disruption introduced by pipeline agents.
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Lynn Price Spherix Global Insights 484-879-4284 lynn.price@spherixglobalinights.com
