Today marks World Arthritis Day, 2017. And as this year’s theme dictates, it’s time to connect and take action, to facilitate better diagnosis and treatment for all people living with a Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Disease or caring for someone with one.

We at Janssen are proud to play a part in this effort, across Asia Pacific and throughout the world.

Diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and lupus, affect millions of people across the region and beyond. Combined, they represent the second leading cause of disability worldwide.

While prevalence in Asia Pacific is low, it is gradually rising, and impacts more women than men. The overall health life years lost in Asia Pacific because of RA have been steadily growing since 1990.

Our goal is clear. We are working to help create a world free from inflammatory and autoimmune conditions like these. It’s complex. It’s critical. And it can only be done when we work together; creating trusted partnerships with academia, advocacy and policy makers, carers and patients themselves.

We’ve made significant progress. Janssen Immunology has helped to revolutionize the way people living with chronic, debilitating autoimmune diseases are treated, since pioneering the first biologic medicine, almost 20 years ago.

Moving forward, we continue our commitment to advancing promising new solutions, and focusing our scientific expertise on the discovery and development of new medicines that will redefine the way we treat immune diseases.

Beyond treatment options, the unmet needs of patients remain significant. And they drive us to do more every day, closely connected with the healthcare community.

Supporting caregivers and healthcare professionals is a critical element on the way of to a world free of immune disease.

An example is our partnership with APLAR, the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology. Together we have created a powerful education program called ARISE (Asia Pacific Rheumatology Intensive Scientific Education) which strives to address the growing healthcare burden of Rheumatology and Spondylarthrosis in Asia Pacific.

Since its inception in 2012, ‘ARISE with APLAR’ has worked to broaden the reach and scope of rheumatic disease education and awareness and it’s still going strong today.

It’s one of many ways we’re working to help create a world free from inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

From online resources for patients, to student scholarship programs, fundraising efforts and professional peak body support, we know that together we can improve patient experiences and outcomes.

Our connected approach to achieving better outcomes for patients and caregivers, creating a sense of urgency for improved care, and collaborating on scientific innovation to enhance treatment options gives us hope that one day we will indeed see a world free from immune disease.

While the quest for a cure is constant, decades of research, clinical trials and real-world evidence have shown that advanced solutions are still very much needed and we are committed to helping create them.

I hope that as you read this, you too are encouraged to connect, and ‘do more’ for those suffering from Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Diseases and help us to make our goal a reality. Because only working together, will we find the way.

Don’t delay, #ConnectToday