Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on scleroderma, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.
August 2025
Belumosudil in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: A randomized, double-blind, open-label extension, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 study
Rheumatology 2025;64:4299–4308 Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf062
Chung et al. showed that this prematurely terminated Phase 2 trial did not identify any trend toward belumosudil efficacy as the combined response index in systemic sclerosis score (CRISS) ≥0.60 responses were similar between belumosudil and placebo groups; but it was found to have acceptable safety and tolerability. Authors evaluated the efficacy, safety and PD of orally administered belumosudil (200mg QD or BID) in patients with dcSSc.
June 2025
Comparative efficacy of immunosuppressive therapies in the treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis
ACR Open Rheumatol 2025;7:e70004 DOI: 10.1002/acr2.70004.
White et al. report a post hoc analysis of the RESOLVE-1 trial comparing immunosuppressive therapies in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc), finding numerically greater improvement in modified Rodnan skin score and stabilisation of lung function with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), particularly in patients with early-stage disease and anti–topoisomerase 1 antibodies. These findings strongly support MMF as a preferred background therapy in this population.