Patients Report Mouth Dryness as Key Sjögren's Concern
Johnson & Johnson's Phase 2 DAHLIAS study found mouth dryness is the symptom improvement patients care about most in Sjögren's disease.
Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Arthritis
Johnson & Johnson announced new patient experience findings from the Phase 2 DAHLIAS study of nipocalimab in Sjögren's disease. The results show mouth dryness is the symptom improvement that matters most to patients.
Why it matters
Sjögren's disease is a chronic, systemic autoantibody-driven disease affecting approximately four million people worldwide. The findings help clarify which symptom outcomes matter most to patients as treatments are developed.
In the Phase 2 DAHLIAS study, 96% of surveyed patients cited mouth dryness as their most frequently reported symptom, and nipocalimab produced a 50% increase in saliva production compared with placebo. Whether these patient-reported and saliva-production gains will translate into durable clinical benefit remains to be seen in later-stage trials.
The players
Johnson & Johnson
A multinational pharmaceutical and medical device company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and one of the largest healthcare firms in the world, which is developing nipocalimab for autoimmune conditions.
The details
Johnson & Johnson's findings draw on patient survey responses from the Phase 2 DAHLIAS study, which evaluated nipocalimab against placebo in Sjögren's disease. The patient experience results complement the study's saliva-production findings and helped inform the design of an ongoing Phase 3 study of nipocalimab in this condition.
Timeline
November 7, 2026: Johnson & Johnson announced the new patient experience findings.
ACR Convergence 2026: Twenty-three nipocalimab abstracts are scheduled to be presented.
Big Picture
The DAHLIAS findings extend the Phase 2 nipocalimab study by showing that patient priorities, such as mouth dryness, align with the objective saliva-production gains already reported. This sets up the ongoing Phase 3 trial to measure outcomes patients themselves say matter most.
For people living with Sjögren's disease, dry mouth is a daily burden, and this research highlights it as a priority for treatment evaluation. Readers with the condition may wish to discuss symptom goals such as saliva production and mouth dryness with their clinicians.
The takeaway
Symptoms patients feel every day, such as mouth dryness, are increasingly central to how new Sjögren's treatments are judged. Patients can raise these day-to-day concerns when discussing care options with their doctors.
What happens next
Twenty-three nipocalimab abstracts are scheduled for presentation at ACR Convergence 2026, where additional study data will be shared.
Further reading
For more on joint and autoimmune conditions, explore our Arthritis coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by SentinelSource.
