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Peterborough City Hospital has become the first hospital in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to enrol its first patient to ‘Daffodil,’ a trial supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research RDN which looks at Sjögren's disease.

Sjögren’s is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks various parts of the body, in particular glands that make moisture such as tear ducts and salivary glands, but it can be quite serious and affects the lungs, kidneys and heart. It is often associated with other conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Karen, a resident of Rutland, began experiencing various symptoms back in the 1990s with very little explanation for what was causing her chronic exhaustion and pain until five years ago when she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s after visiting her GP for another set of tests. A referral to the Rheumatology team at Peterborough City Hospital provided her with more answers and the hope she would start to receive more help.

Karen said: “I’ve been living with these symptoms for practically my whole life and it’s impacted things like family holidays, work and day-to-day tasks. So, when I was approached about this trial, and found out I’d met all the inclusion criteria, I could have hugged Dr Sharma from relief.”

The Trust actively screens patients who attend rheumatology clinics for ongoing research projects run in the department. Patients who may be eligible for a research study are contacted by the Trust’s Research and Development Team. Daffodil is the first study of its kind to open across the Trust.

Participants of the trial will receive an injection of either Nipocalimab, which is an investigational monoclonal antibody, or a placebo, a substance that looks like the medicine but contains no active ingredients.

Karen added: “I’m really excited to be part of this research and bring more knowledge and awareness to this disease. This has the potential to change lives and I’m keen to see what happens.”

Dr Poonam Sharma, Director of Research and Development and Consultant Rheumatologist and Principal Investigator for this study said: “It’s fantastic that we’re taking part in this study and contributing research to this rare disease, I’m really proud of our Research Team for their hard work and involvement in this trial and it’s exciting to see what this research will tell us about Sjögren’s and how we can help people with this autoimmune disorder.”

Notes to Editors:

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:

• Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
• Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
• Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
• Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
• Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
• Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.

NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.