Focus Sector: Autoimmune Research & Clinical Access

MISSION

The Flare audits unpublished, shelved, withdrawn, and terminated clinical trial data in the autoimmune and oncology sectors. We translate raw data into transparent briefings for patients, families, advocacy groups, and independent researchers.

This week, someone left a comment on our Hashimoto's post that stopped us mid-scroll.

That is why this publication exists.

Not to generate content. Not to fill an inbox. But to close the distance between what the clinical data actually shows and what a patient is able to walk into a doctor's office and say out loud.

Since launching, The Flare has published briefings on Sjögren's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and the structural failures that connect them — a diagnosis gap averaging 4.5 years, antibody data that goes unmeasured, celiac overlap that goes unscreened. Every briefing is sourced from primary records: ClinicalTrials.gov, FDA databases, peer-reviewed literature, and SEC filings. No press releases. No promotional language. No speculation where the data does not support it.

The Flare newsletter is free. It will remain free. Our job is to make sure the data reaches the people who need it most.

May is one of the most important months on the autoimmune awareness calendar. More than three of the conditions The Flare covers directly have designated awareness months beginning May 1st and each one has a specific clinical story worth telling right now, not just because the calendar says so, but because the data demands it.

LUPUS (SLE) — May is Lupus Awareness Month

Lupus affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans, with women of color carrying a disproportionate disease burden and the longest diagnostic delays in the autoimmune space. Three drugs have reached approval in recent years — belimumab, voclosporin, and anifrolumab — but the gap between what is approved and what patients are actually being offered remains wide. The Flare will audit the current pipeline, the complement monitoring data that predicts flares before they become clinical, and the trials currently open for enrollment.

The Lupus briefing publishes next week.

CELIAC DISEASE — May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month

An estimated 83% of people with celiac disease remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The failures are structural: IgA deficiency invalidates the standard screening panel, DGP-IgG is rarely ordered despite catching what tTG-IgA misses, and the connection to autoimmune thyroid disease is documented in the literature but absent from most clinical workflows.

The Celiac briefing publishes in May.

ARTHRITIS AWARENESS MONTH — RA, Psoriatic Arthritis, and axial Spondyloarthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis are distinct conditions with distinct biomarkers and distinct treatment targets, yet they are routinely lumped together in ways that obscure the clinical differences that matter to patients. The Flare will cover each separately, with particular attention to the seronegative gap in RA, the five-domain assessment problem in PsA, and the HLA-B27 negative delay in axSpA.

The Arthritis series begins in May.

MYOSITIS — May is Myositis Awareness Month

Myositis (encompassing polymyositis, dermatomyositis, inclusion body myositis, and immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy) is among the most underdiagnosed conditions in the autoimmune spectrum, with significant overlap with lupus, Sjögren's disease, and systemic sclerosis. The Flare will cover the myositis antibody panel, the muscle biopsy question, and a pipeline that has historically received far less research attention than the disease burden warrants.

The Myositis briefing publishes in May.

IBD & Behçet's Disease — World IBD Day May 19 / World Behçet's Day May 20

IBD is increasingly recognized as a systemic immune condition with manifestations well beyond the gut. Behçet's disease, a rare systemic vasculitis, remains one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in Western medicine despite a distinctive and documentable clinical picture. The Flare will cover both in a single briefing; the pipeline, the diagnostic failures, and the questions patients are not being asked.

The IBD and Behçet's briefing publishes the week of May 19th.

While you wait for the May briefings, The Flare has published condition-specific appointment reference cards for several of the conditions covered in this series. Each card is a single-page, print-ready PDF built from the same primary source research that powers our briefings — translated into the questions your doctor can actually answer and the biomarkers you should understand before you walk in.

These are available now in The Flare shop:

Each card is $7. Instant download. Print at home or at any print shop.

Lupus (SLE)

Celiac Disease

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Psoriatic Arthritis

Axial Spondyloarthritis

Myositis

IBD (Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis)

Behçet's Disease

Disclaimer: The Flare is an independent investigative journalism outlet. We are not medical providers, clinical trial sites, or financial advisors. This information is for educational and journalistic purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.