Exagen

07/22/2026

The old idea that “there isn’t much to be done” for Sjögren’s no longer reflects where the field is heading.

In this conversation with Dr. Kara Wada, Exagen Chief Medical Officer Dr. Prashanti Reddy discusses how improved diagnostic approaches and a growing treatment pipeline are changing what is possible for patients.

Their conversation explores:
• Why Sjögren’s diagnosis can still take three to five years
• Why relying on a single antibody may leave some patients undiagnosed
• How patterns of immune activation can provide a more complete clinical picture
• Why disease subtype, systemic involvement, current activity, and biomarker profile matter when considering targeted therapies
• How clinicians and patients can assess disease activity more objectively—not only through symptoms
• How to approach lymphoma risk with awareness rather than fear

One practical question patients may consider bringing to their next appointment:
“Do we know how active my disease is systemically?”

The discussion offers a grounded but optimistic view of how Sjögren’s care is evolving and why earlier recognition, better characterization, and more individualized management matter.

Watch the full conversation and access the accompanying Navigating Sjögren’s Disease patient guide.

07/15/2026

Exagen is pleased to share that AVISE® is featured in a new article, “Closing the Diagnostic Gap in Sjögren’s Disease.”

Based on an interview with Kara Wada MD, the article explores the ongoing challenges of diagnosing ’s disease, the importance of earlier recognition, and approaches that may help improve the diagnostic journey for patients.

The article also highlights AVISE, Exagen’s advanced diagnostic testing portfolio, as a tool that can support clinicians in the evaluation of patients with suspected Sjögren’s disease.

Read the full article here:

Recognition gaps, seronegative disease, and an expanding pipeline define the current Sjögren's moment.

07/08/2026

We’re proud to sponsor the ’s Virtual Summit, taking place July 16–18.

The Summit was created to hlp bridge the gap between information and everyday living with ’s by bringing together patients, clinicians, researchers, and industry partners to learn from one another, share perspectives, and build meaningful connections that support the Sjögren’s community.

As part of our sponsorship, Exagen will also make a downloadable Sjögren’s Disease Patient Guide available during the Summit. The guide is designed to help patients feel more prepared for conversations with their care team, with practical information on the diagnosis journey, symptom tracking, care planning, research and biomarkers, and self-advocacy. It also includes questions patients can bring to appointments and a symptom tracker to help make discussions with clinicians more productive.

We’re honored to support this collaborative effort with Kara Wada MD and help advance education, connection, and understanding for people living with Sjögren’s.

06/30/2026

Seronegative rheumatoid arthritis can present a diagnostic challenge. When RF and anti-CCP are negative, RA may still remain in the differential, particularly when clinical findings suggest inflammatory arthritis.

A broader diagnostic evaluation may help support clinical decision-making, including assessment of:

🔗 Synovitis and joint involvement pattern
🔗 Symptom duration and extra-articular manifestations
🔗 Inflammatory markers and imaging findings
🔗 Additional serum biomarkers such as anti-RA33 and anti-PAD4
🔗 Ongoing reassessment as the clinical picture evolves

Seronegativity does not exclude RA. Integrating clinical, serologic, imaging, and longitudinal data can help provide a more complete diagnostic picture.

🔍 For clinicians: when conventional RA markers are negative, what factors do you find most helpful in deciding whether to continue evaluating for RA?

Follow us to learn how biomarkers can support the evaluation of suspected RA.

06/25/2026

When RF and anti-CCP are negative, RA may still remain in the differential.

For physicians evaluating patients with joint pain, stiffness, or swelling, conventional serologies are an important part of the workup, but they do not always provide the full picture.

Additional biomarkers such as anti-RA33 and anti-PAD4 may provide clinically useful information when clinical suspicion for rheumatoid arthritis remains, supporting a more complete diagnostic assessment alongside symptoms, physical exam, imaging, and patient history.

At Exagen, we’re focused on advancing autoimmune testing that helps bring greater clarity to complex diagnostic decisions.

🔍 How are you approaching seronegative or diagnostically ambiguous RA cases in clinical practice?

06/23/2026

Anti-CCP may provide clinically relevant insight early in the rheumatoid arthritis evaluation process.

Anti-CCP antibodies can be present before clinically apparent RA and are considered more specific for RA than rheumatoid factor, making them a useful marker when evaluating patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis. Results should be interpreted alongside symptoms, physical exam, imaging, and other laboratory findings.

For clinicians, early biomarker insight may help support a more informed evaluation pathway and treatment planning when RA is suspected.

🔍️ How are you incorporating anti-CCP into the workup for patients with early or ambiguous inflammatory arthritis?

06/19/2026

As newer biomarkers continue to expand our understanding of RA, they may help physicians better assess risk, support monitoring decisions, and refine conversations around disease progression.

For clinicians managing patients with suspected or established RA, anti-PAD4 is one more piece of information that may help bring clarity to a complex autoimmune disease.

🔍️ How are you thinking about newer biomarkers in RA evaluation and monitoring?

06/17/2026

Myositis specific antibodies can provide important information for diagnosing and characterizing idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), but consistency across testing platforms remains an important consideration in research and clinical trial settings.

𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 (𝗣𝗠𝗔𝗧), 𝗘𝗻𝘇𝘆𝗺𝗲-𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆 (𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗔), 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆 (𝗟𝗜𝗔) 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.

Key takeaways include:

👉 PMAT and ELISA showed strong agreement for select antibodies, including anti-Mi-2, anti-MDA5, and anti-TIF1-γ.
👉 Tri-method comparison data across PMAT, ELISA, and LIA provided additional insight into platform consistency.
👉 Linearity findings varied by analyte and platform, supporting future research into whether quantitative MSA assessment may help evaluate antibody-targeted therapies.

For biopharma and clinical trial teams, these findings may be relevant when patient characterization, site-to-site consistency, and future quantitative biomarker strategies are important considerations.

At Exagen, our specialized autoimmune biomarker expertise and centralized laboratory model help support complex clinical research programs in autoimmune disease.

06/16/2026

OB-GYNs can be a critical touchpoint in autoimmune care.

Symptoms such as fatigue, arthralgia, sicca symptoms, pregnancy complications, and nonspecific systemic concerns may overlap with reproductive health and menopause-related conversations.

For patients with suspected SLE, diagnostic delay remains a meaningful challenge, and pregnancy can raise additional clinical considerations, including risks associated with SLE and anti-SSA/Ro or anti-SSB/La antibodies.

𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘® 𝗟𝘂𝗽𝘂𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗕-𝗖𝗔𝗣𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗟𝗘. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆, 𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘-𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗟𝗘 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗡𝗔 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

For OB-GYNs, recognizing when symptoms, pregnancy history, or antibody risk may warrant broader autoimmune evaluation or rheumatology collaboration can make a meaningful difference.

06/04/2026

We are proud to announce our latest publication in Lupus Science & Medicine:

"𝑪𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒑𝒖𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒔: 𝒂 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏."

The most comprehensive validation of the AVISE MAP index to date: 3,132 subjects, 14 years, 14 academic centers.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰:

↳ AVISE Lupus identified 24.5% more SLE cases than conventional serologic and complement testing alone
↳ It reduced the seronegative diagnostic gap by nearly half — 52% to 27.5%
↳ Diagnostic accuracy of AUC 0.90, outperforming all individual biomarkers tested
↳ Consistent performance across diverse demographic groups and disease controls

Delayed diagnosis has real consequences: longer corticosteroid exposure, greater organ damage, higher healthcare costs. Integrating the MAP index into routine clinical workflows gives clinicians a more complete picture — earlier.

Thank you to our clinical partners and our co-authors Vasileios C. Kyttaris, Jennifer L. Rogers, Michelle A. Petri, Daniel J. Wallace, Howard Busch, Rodney Daniel, Andrew Concoff, Sepehr Taghavi, Touba Warsi, Christine Schleif, Cynthia Alvarez, Brittany D. Partain, Tyler O'Malley, and Michael Mahler.