IAG Monthly June: Smarter Rheumatology and Autoimmune Trials

June has been a strong month for our team at Image Analysis Group (IAG), with a particular focus on clinical trials and development of novel therapeutics in rheumatic and autoimmune diseases. Innovative therapeutic platforms, use of AI in trials, modern data strategies and improved trial designs – were the topics of discussion at various conferences that the team attended.

From our presence at BIO International Convention to scientific exchange at EULAR – European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology and the International Workshop on Osteoarthritis Imaging, discussions consistently reinforced a key message: imaging is a critical decision-making tool in modern clinical trials.

It doesn’t matter if you are developing a small molecular or advanced car-t therapy, smart way to stratify and include patients, assess never-seen-before efficacy or ensure safety – all rely on the use of radiological imaging in clinical trials.

As therapies become more targeted and mechanisms more nuanced, the need for sensitive, quantitative, and reproducible imaging endpoints as well as deployment of Artificial Intelligence based methods for image data processing are accelerating, supporting evidence-based go/no-go decisions.

Rheumatic and autoimmune indications are the hottest topic in drug development.

While everyone is worried about the recruitment into trials of relatively rare diseases, such as myositis or ankylosing spondylitis, the whole industry is entering a more demanding phase of clinical development.

Success increasingly depends on the ability to detect subtle, early, and treatment-relevant changes. Imaging is no longer supportive; it is central to patient stratification, early efficacy detection, and robust longitudinal assessment.

At IAG, we are seeing biotech and pharma Sponsors move decisively toward advanced MRI, quantitative imaging biomarkers, and AI-enabled analysis to better characterize disease heterogeneity and unlock more precise endpoints. This is particularly critical in complex, heterogeneous conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, myositis, osteoarthritis, and connective tissue diseases, where conventional measures often lack the sensitivity to detect early or treatment-driven change.

Through centralized operational imaging strategies and our DYNAMIKA™ platform, IAG ensures cross-site consistency, rapid quality control, and reproducible, regulator-ready data across global clinical trials – enabling faster, more confident, data-driven decisions.

• Autoimmune and rheumatology pipelines are expanding, with multiple 2026 landscape reports highlighting sustained growth in biologics and immune-modulating therapies across RA, SpA, SLE and Sjögren’s disease.
• Quantitative MRI and other imaging biomarkers are increasingly used to sensitively track inflammatory and structural change and treatment response, often with lower interobserver variability than traditional visual scoring.
• AI‑enabled imaging analysis is emerging as a practical tool to handle heterogeneous, multimodal datasets in systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, improving segmentation, scoring automation, and consistency while supporting precision medicine approaches.

These trends highlight a clear shift toward precision medicine approaches, where imaging provides critical biological insight beyond traditional clinical measures.

DYNAMIKA™ sits at the center of IAG’s rheumatology and autoimmune imaging strategy, transforming complex, heterogeneous data into consistent, decision‑ready endpoints.

It enforces standardized acquisition, enables rapid automated quality control, and delivers robust quantitative outputs that strengthen traditional scoring systems in inflammatory arthritis, myositis, osteoarthritis, and connective tissue disease trials. By integrating imaging biomarkers with AI‑enabled analytics, DYNAMIKA™ helps Sponsors detect signals earlier, control variability across global studies, and make faster, evidence‑based go/no‑go decisions in demanding autoimmune programs.

👉 Discover how DYNAMIKA™ can strengthen endpoint sensitivity, standardization, and decision-making in your next trial: https://www.ia-grp.com/dynamika/

June was marked by strong engagement across key industry events:

EULAR 2026 & Pre‑EULAR IAG Welcome Party

At EULAR 2026, IAG met with biotechs and pharma advancing RA, PsA, SpA, myositis, and connective tissue disease programs, with a clear focus on imaging‑rich trials.

Prof. Mikael Boesen gave a key note speech on the AI infrastructure and Dr. Olga Kubassova was presenting with global network of collaborators and clients several poster presentations.

Discussions centered on centralized MRI, quantitative imaging biomarkers, and AI‑enabled endpoints to increase sensitivity, reduce inter‑reader variability, and align imaging strategies with evolving EULAR and regulatory expectations.

👉 Explore more insights from IAG’s attendance at EULAR 2026, including Professor Mikael Boesen’s talk on ‘Digitalization in Rheumatology – Potential and Blind Spots’ here: https://www.ia-grp.com/industry-digest/eular-rheumatology-clinical-trials/

Our Pre‑EULAR Welcome reception in London, England brought together clinical development leaders, medical directors, biomarker scientists, and operational leads in an open, informal setting to exchange ideas, share emerging best practices in clinical trial imaging, and how IAG and other proven methods, can help de‑risk and streamline Phase II–III trials.

BIO International Convention

At BIO, Dr. Olga Kubassova held targeted meetings with biotech executives responsible for advancing early‑phase immunology and autoimmune programs. Discussions focused on how centralized imaging and AI can sharpen early efficacy signals, enable more intelligent proof‑of‑concept trial design, and improve the robustness of data packages presented to internal decision‑makers and external stakeholders. For many of these platform‑driven, data‑centric biotechs, DYNAMIKA™ emerged as a strategic lever to accelerate go/no‑go decisions, reduce uncertainty around dose and patient selection, and bring greater clarity and confidence to clinical development strategy – supported by IAG’s operational expertise and the strength of its extensive KOL network for trial outcome review.

IWOAI Meeting

At IWOAI 2026 in Munich, Professor Mikael Boesen engaged with osteoarthritis KOLs, musculoskeletal imaging experts, and trial sponsors focused on endophenotypes and structural progression. Key takeaways included growing demand for quantitative MRI, radiomics, and AI‑assisted analysis to detect subtle cartilage, bone, and synovial changes and to better stratify OA populations in interventional trials. These discussions reinforced IAG’s role as a specialist partner for Sponsors who need reproducible, high‑granularity imaging endpoints in complex musculoskeletal and autoimmune indications.

• Understanding Endophenotypes in Osteoarthritis: A concise, expert overview of how osteoarthritis is composed of distinct endophenotypes, and how imaging can be used to define these more homogeneous subgroups to support smarter patient selection, stratification, and outcome interpretation in OA trials. Read more → https://www.ia-grp.com/knowledge-base/endophenotypes-of-osteoarthritis/
• Imaging-Driven Clinical Trials: An applied perspective on how structured imaging strategies and platforms like DYNAMIKA™ can transform clinical trial design, improving endpoint sensitivity, de‑risking development decisions, and enhancing the evidentiary value of imaging‑rich studies across therapeutic areas. Read more → https://www.ia-grp.com/resources/dynamika-platform-imaging-in-clinical-trials/

As autoimmune and rheumatology trials grow more complex and data‑intensive, imaging has become a cornerstone of modern clinical development rather than a supportive add‑on. At IAG, the focus is on delivering data‑driven imaging strategies that sharpen endpoints, reduce uncertainty in go/no‑go decisions, and give Sponsors the confidence to move faster with scientifically robust, regulator‑ready evidence.

By combining advanced imaging science, AI‑enabled analytics, and deep operational expertise, IAG helps turn complex images into clear, actionable insight so your trials don’t just generate more data, they generate better decisions.

July is rapidly approaching, and we will be dedicating it to exploring oncology clinical trials’ operational strategies and beyond.

We recently announced our collaboration with Picture Health on IAG’s Official YouTube channel, highlighting how AI and centralized imaging can power smarter oncology trials.

🎥 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQmx-4VHI-A

More expert-led content and discussions are coming soon as part of our ongoing educational series.

Stay tuned! Subscribe to stay updated: https://www.youtube.com/@ImageAnalysisGroup

🌐 Visit our website: www.ia-grp.com

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• Alacrita – Autoimmune Disease Drug Development Pipeline and Biopharma Deals 2026
• Patsnap Eureka – Autoimmune Diseases — Global Competitive Landscape Report 2026
• Patsnap Eureka – Rheumatoid Arthritis — Global Competitive Landscape Report 2026
• DecodeMR – Autoimmune-Summaries: Daily Autoimmune Updates at a Glance (03/06/2026)
• Syenza News – Immunology Treatment Advancements Highlighted at EULAR 2026
• PubMed – Emerging quantitative MR imaging biomarkers in inflammatory arthritides
• ScienceDirect – Emerging quantitative MR imaging biomarkers in inflammatory arthritides
• PMC – Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) in axial spondyloarthritis
• PubMed – Measuring response to treatment in axial spondyloarthritis using quantitative imaging biomarkers
• Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology – Quantitative muscle magnetic resonance imaging as a biomarker
• PubMed – Novel quantitative digital image analysis methodology for assessment of inflammatory changes in MRI data in RA (baricitinib Phase IIb)
• PubMed – Artificial intelligence for biopsies and imaging modalities in systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases
• PubMed – AI for imaging evaluation in rheumatology: applications of radiomics and computer vision
• PMC – Artificial Intelligence in Rheumatology: From Algorithms to Clinical Practice
• PubMed – Deep learning analysis for rheumatologic imaging: current trends, future directions, and the role of human
• SAGE – Current application, possibilities, and challenges of artificial intelligence in the management of rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis

For nearly 20 years, Image Analysis Group (IAG) has been a trusted imaging partner to the world’s leading pharma, biotech and medtech companies. With 700+ trials behind us, our imaging CRO (iCRO) combines deep medical imaging science, expert radiology readers, global project management organization and the DYNAMIKA™ platform to de-risk clinical development and accelerate clinical trials.

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