A new study published in Rheumatology used genetic data to identify 89 existing medications that could potentially be repurposed as treatments for scleroderma. Rather than developing new drugs from scratch, the researchers cross-referenced genes linked to scleroderma risk with databases of known medications, which is a faster and less costly approach to finding treatments for a disease that remains difficult to treat.
Notably, one of the identified drugs—amlitelimab—is already being evaluated in the SRF’s CONQUEST trial, a platform study testing multiple potential scleroderma treatments in parallel. The researchers cited this as proof of concept for their approach, suggesting that genetic analysis of this kind may help accelerate the typically lengthy process of identifying and developing new treatments.
This study adds to a growing body of work aimed at finding faster paths to scleroderma therapies. Its independent identification of amlitelimab reflects CONQUEST’s standing as a significant platform for clinical investigation in the field.
