Welcome to the 9th EAPS Congress Programme Scheduling

Abstract Body

Since the 1990s, recombinant molecules have been developed and approved exponentially. In the last decade, more than 50% of the new orphan indication approval has been for biological drugs. The use of biologics to modulate the immune system has become a common therapeutic approach to treat and control inflammatory disorders. Their effectiveness has been demonstrated beyond doubts in many cases, but their immunological consequences and long-term effect are yet to be well determined. Although, biologic therapies do not cause a global immunosuppression as seen in traditional immunosuppressive therapy, they can compromise host response to certain pathogens and lead to serious infections.

The usual suspects will be presented, focussing mainly on representative examples such as: anti-B cell therapy, complement blockade therapy, intestinal inflammatory therapy and JAK-inhibitors. Their mechanism of action and side effects will also be discussed focussing on infection risk and immunological consequences. The management of drug-induced secondary immunodeficiencies may include the use of immunoglobulin replacement therapy, prophylactic antivirals and antibiotics. In the era of immunoglobulin shorten supply, secondary immunodeficiencies need to be better defined to select the most suited approach for each patient.