PatientSpotlight, by PanaceaIntelPatientSpotlight

Explained · Immunology · 6 pieces

Explained

Plain-language primers - no jargon, no assumed background - for patients, caregivers, and anyone trying to understand what's actually going on.

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These are written so a non-specialist can read them once and walk away with a working understanding. They are not medical advice. If you are new to the topic, the diagnosis primers are a useful place to start.

Diagnosis

4
ExplainedNEWMay 8, 2026

What is systemic sclerosis?

Plain-language primer on systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), why it affects multiple organ systems, and what modern therapy can offer.

DiagnosisTreatmentPatient journey
ExplainedNEWMay 7, 2026

What is ANCA-associated vasculitis?

Plain-language primer on ANCA-associated vasculitis, why it can affect multiple organs, and how modern therapy works.

DiagnosisTreatmentPatient journey
ExplainedNEWMay 5, 2026

What is lupus nephritis?

Plain-language primer on lupus nephritis, why kidney involvement is a turning point in lupus, and how modern therapy works.

DiagnosisTreatmentPatient journey
ExplainedNEWMay 4, 2026

What is Sjogren disease?

Plain-language primer on Sjogren disease, why it has been hard to treat, and what is changing.

DiagnosisTreatmentPatient journey

Market access

1
ExplainedApr 26, 2026NICE · FDA · EMA

How biosimilar policy frameworks differ across major markets and what it means for prescribing

Biosimilar policy frameworks across the EU, UK, US, and adjacent markets differ materially in interchangeability rules, prescriber-substitution practice, and payer-incentive design. The differences shape biosimilar uptake patterns, originator commercial trajectories, and the broader biologic class economics.

Market accessPolicyBiosimilars

Access

1
ExplainedApr 26, 2026payer-policy · peer-reviewed · patient-advocacy

How payer step-therapy evolved from a cost tool into a sequencing rulebook

Step-therapy began as a way for payers to manage spend on competing biologics with similar efficacy. It has, over the past decade, become a de-facto sequencing rulebook that defines the order in which classes are tried regardless of which class fits the patient's phenotype best. The clinical and patient-experience consequences are larger than the cost-management origin would suggest.

AccessStep therapyBiologicsPayer