Purpose of review: Axial spondyloarthritis remains an area of significant unmet clinical need with only two immune pathways currently targeted by licenced therapies compared to other immune-mediated inflammatory joint disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis where a multitude of therapeutic options are available. This review will look at emerging therapeutic targets in axial spondyloarthritis beyond the neutralisation of IL-17A and TNF by monoclonal antibodies.
Recent findings: Several promising targets are in various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development in axial spondyloarthritis. These include small molecule approaches to target transcription factors, epigenetic modification and intracellular modulation of cytokine signalling by kinase inhibition. GM-CSF has also emerged as a potential driver of inflammation.
Summary: A number of novel and promising therapeutic options are in various stages of development in axial spondyloarthritis. The Janus kinase inhibitors have shown great promise in other immune-mediated inflammatory disorders and will be an exciting addition to the axial spondyloarthritis field as the first oral disease-modifying agents. GM-CSF blockade also shows great promise since antibodies for neutralising this cytokine are safe in patients and have shown efficacy in other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
Keywords: GM-CSF; JAK; ROR-γt; Spondyloarthritis; Th17.