Novel therapies in Sjögren’s disease: A systematic review of the literature

Sjögren's disease (SjD) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disorder that primarily involves lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands, with frequent extra-glandular manifestations. Historically, treatment options for SjD have been limited to alleviating symptoms, rather than treating the underlying cause or preventing disease progression. Furthermore, past clinical trials of therapies such as rituximab failed to demonstrate improvement in symptoms or disease activity. Recently, novel therapeutic strategies targeting underlying disease pathogenesis - including transcription factors, circulating RNA, and B and T cell activity - herald a paradigm shift. Given the complexities of diagnosis, clinical assessment and treatment in SjD, improved clinical trial design with enhanced patient stratification, greater inclusivity and better outcome measures are paramount in evaluating new therapeutics. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of recent SjD therapeutic advances, assess trial inclusivity with respect to sex/gender and ethnicity, critically examine negative pivotal trials and highlight promising directions for future research.