Vor Bio used its J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026 presentation to announce a strategic pivot to autoimmune diseases, shifting focus from cell therapy to telitacicept, a dual BAFF/APRIL in-licensed from China-based Remegen in mid-2025. CEO Jean-Paul Kress, MD, emphasised that telitacicept has been clinically validated across more than eight autoimmune indications in China, and has a consistent safety profile, with over ten thousand patients treated commercially, creating a robust dataset for global expansion.
The most notable strategic choice is prioritising myasthenia gravis (MG) and Sjögren’s disease as lead indications while deprioritising lupus despite prior China approvals. Lupus has become increasingly crowded with multiple approved biologics, including GSK’s Benlysta (belimumab), a BLyS/BAFF antagonist similar to telitacicept. Evolving treatment standards emphasising sustained durability and steroid-sparing effects have raised the bar for new entrants. This pivot positions the company in less saturated indications where mechanistic differentiation may translate more readily into commercial value.
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MG, by contrast, offers a well-characterised disease model, established clinical endpoints, and faster development timelines, representing an attractive commercial opportunity, with the 7MM market projected to reach approximately $7.6bn by 2029 (from $6.3bn in 2025, per GlobalData), alongside increasing biologics penetration. Vor Bio highlighted robust China Phase III data showing strong improvements in MG-ADL scores and durability through extended follow-up, supporting the potential for disease-modifying benefit rather than purely symptomatic control. The global Phase III program is already enrolling across the US and EU, with protocol refinements designed to strengthen long-term durability assessment.
Sjögren’s represents the longer-term strategic upside, with the company describing it as one of the most underserved systemic autoimmune diseases, affecting a large patient population with multisystem involvement. Importantly, there are currently no approved disease-modifying therapies specifically for Sjögren’s, representing significant commercial opportunity in a therapeutic area with substantial unmet need. Novartis’s ianalumab, an anti-BAFF-R antibody, is currently in Phase III development with approval currently anticipated ahead of telitacicept, providing potential future competition in the space. Vor Bio presented Phase III data from China demonstrating clinically meaningful improvements on ESSDAI and ESSPRI, with durability through 48 weeks and minimal confounding from background immunosuppression. The company has incorporated learnings from prior global programs in the space to optimise site selection, endpoint consistency, and background therapy control ahead of its planned global Phase III initiation in the coming months.
Vor Bio is repositioning as a focused, late-stage immunology company with a clinically validated asset, a clear two-indication strategy, and sufficient capital to fund key milestones through mid-2028. By stepping away from increasingly crowded autoimmune indications and prioritising MG for near-term execution alongside Sjögren’s as a longer-term growth driver, the company reduces competitive risk while maintaining meaningful upside potential. Vor Bio’s execution will determine success, but the framework is coherent, capital-disciplined, and aligned with how successful specialty immunology companies have historically scaled in less saturated therapeutic areas.
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