New faces to bring expertise on biosimilars, complex diseases to CCR-East 2023

A collection of new presenters will be speaking at the 2023 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology-East, covering biosimilars and complex diseases under the rheumatology umbrella, including sarcoidosis and Sjögren’s syndrome.

The new faces will join CCR-East veterans including Michelle Petri, MD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, John Stone, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Arthur Kavanaugh, MD, of the University of California, San Diego.

“This is the over-arching goal of the program — to provide as much information as we can for attendees to take back to their clinic and put to use right away,” Pamela McLain, MD, FAAD, symposium coordinator at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology, told Healio. “The goal is to have physicians understand the treatment landscape and new modalities to improve patient care.”

The meeting will run from May 4 to May 7 at the Sandestin Hilton and Conference Center in Destin, Florida. More than 600 attendees from 45 states and 11 countries are expected to attend.

“We had 1,300 registrants for CCR-East and -West combined in 2022,” David A. McLain, MD, FACP, MACR, executive director of the Alabama Society for the Rheumatic Diseases, and symposium director of the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology, said in an interview. “We are doing well with in-person registration so far this year. It seems like more and more people are ready to come to a live meeting and be outside their house and clinic.”

That said, the full program will be available online, as well.

“Anyone who has registered for the meeting, either on site or virtual, will automatically also have virtual access,” Pamela McLain added.

First-time presenters

The McLains highlighted some of the new faces who will be presenting at CCR-East this year.

Jonathan Kay, MD, Timothy and Elaine Peterson chair in rheumatology at the University of Massachusetts, will be giving a presentation titled, “Biosimilars: Are They Really the Same as the Originator Product?”

“There is a big push toward biosimilars in our state and recently by our largest insurer,” David McLain said.

He noted, for example, that there will be a mandate for many providers to use a biosimilar form of infliximab (Remicade, Janssen) in place of the originator product, even for patients who have been on the originator for years.

“We are starting to see a lot of insurance companies across the country mandating biosimilars, as well, so Dr. Kay will go over some of the important data on interchangeability and other related topics,” he added.

Pamela McLain encouraged attendees to view some of the research Kay has published on biosimilars in recent years.

“A lot of physicians in practice are still unfamiliar with biosimilars and how they may impact patients,” she said. “Dr. Kay will help us understand the landscape in terms of dosage adjustments and combination therapies.”

Another first-time presenter will be Nadera J. Sweiss, MD, chief of rheumatology as well as clinic founder and director of the Bernie Mac Sarcoidosis (STAR) Clinic, at the University of Illinois in Chicago, who will discuss sarcoidosis.

“Dr. Sweiss is doing a lot of great work in sarcoidosis,” David McLain said. “She speaks all over the world and will provide some cutting-edge information about this condition.”

Pamela McLain said Sweiss will bring a practical knowledge about treating the disease to the meeting.

“Her research has covered off-label as well as investigational targeted therapy options, like using adalimumab (Humira, AbbVie) for cardiac sarcoidosis,” she said. “But she has also covered topics pertaining to COVID in sarcoidosis patients and other relevant areas for our attendees.”

The other new presenter will be Sara McCoy, MD, PhD, associate professor in rheumatology at the University of Wisconsin, who will give a presentation titled, “Sjögren’s Syndrome Cluster Subtypes: What are They and Are they Useful to Predict Treatment, End Organ or Laboratory Abnormalities?”

“The research is showing that there is a lot more to Sjögren’s than just dry mouth and dry eyes,” Pamela McLain said. “Because of this, a lot of these patients are being missed or are experiencing diagnostic delays.”

Sjögren’s patients may experience peripheral neuropathy, pulmonary symptoms, or gastrointestinal involvement.

“It is really important for rheumatologists to be on top of how these patients can present,” Pamela McLain said. “Sjögren’s might not be the first thought on the differential.”

She added that McCoy will cover treatment options for this condition.

“For example, some patients with systemic manifestations could benefit from more aggressive intervention,” she said.

This is especially important because there are currently no FDA-approved treatments for this disease.

“They are challenging patients to treat because it is always off-label,” David McLain said. “McCoy, who specializes in Sjögren’s research, will give valuable advice on using these therapies.”

‘Sharpen your thoughts’

Importantly, all virtual and in-person attendees will continue to have access to the online program — including the North American Young Rheumatology Investigators Forum (NYRIF) and the Immunology Course, both scheduled for Wednesday, May 3 — for 3 months after the meeting.

“They can download any presentation,” Pamela McLain said.

As in previous years, Daniel Aletaha, MD, MSc, MBA, chair of rheumatology at the Medical University of Vienna, in Austria, will run NYRIF.

Meanwhile, the thieves’ market, which is always a highlight of the CCR program, has been moved to Thursday, May 4, according to David McLain.

“Fellows and clinical rheumatologists in practice present cases of either rare diseases or unusual presentations of more common rheumatologic conditions that we do not have time to present on for a full hour in the regular program,” he said. “We can cover a lot of pathology. It is very helpful to think about some of the unusual cases you might come across in the clinic.”

Pamela McLain added that there are numerous occasions when a patient may display one key symptom for one disease or condition, leading a provider to make a diagnosis “right away without thinking any further.

“The thieves’ market can sharpen your thoughts around the differential diagnoses,” she said.

The last session of the day on Friday will feature a poster rounding with tours led by the faculty.

“The posters are often where you discuss the new and unusual,” David McLain noted.

Regarding non-clinical events, CCR-East 2023 will feature a golf tournament on May 7, as well as a banquet that evening that will act the culmination of the weekend’s activities. There, Leonard Calabrese, DO, director of the R.J. Fasenmyer Center for Clinical Immunology at Cleveland Clinic, and chief medical editor of Healio Rheumatology, will deliver a talk on the history of immunology.

“We like these history talks for the banquet, rather than the purely clinical topics we cover during the day, because spouses and other guests are welcome to join for dinner,” David McLain said. “Dr. Calabrese is a great and entertaining speaker, and he has promised that the talk should be interesting for physicians and non-physicians alike. We hope to have something for everyone at CCR-East.”