NKTR-358 bolsters T-cells’ ability to respond to immune inflammatory disorders such as lupus, according to a preclinical-trial study. Nektar Therapeutics said its therapy increased levels of a subset of T-cells known as regulatory T-cells and reduced inflammation. It also generated fewer side effects than immunosuppressant drugs. The company presented the findings at the…
French pharmaceutical firm Neovacs has completed enrollment for a Phase 2b clinical trial (IFN-K-002) to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IFNα-Kinoid to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). “The completion of enrollment is an important milestone for our IFN Kinoid program and confirms the interest of leading clinicians conducting our trial in this novel…
An injected formulation of Benlysta (belimumab) is a safe and effective lupus treatment, according to a Phase 3 clinical trial that tested an alternative to administering the therapy intravenously. Researchers reported the results of the 52-week BLISS-SC trial in Arthritis & Rheumatology. The article was titled “…
Voclosporin, an investigational therapy developed by Canada’s Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, is more effective at treating lupus nephritis (LN) than other calcineurin inhibitors, according to data from the ongoing Phase 2B AURA-LV (AURA) trial (NCT02141672). Dr. James Tumlin, the study’s lead author and clinical investigator, gave a presentation, “Steroid Sparing Efficacy of Voclosporin in…
Servier and ILTOO Pharma have joined forces with an exclusive license agreement for the development and commercialization of the investigational drug ILT-101 (low-dose interleukin-2) to target systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases. The companies expect that results of the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02955615)…
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are twice as likely to suffer a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) as people without this form of lupus, according to researchers at Atlanta’s Morehouse School of Medicine. Their study, “Prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism Among Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Discharges,” appeared in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.
The presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in circulation may aid identify patients at risk for pulmonary hypertension (PH) and associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) among people who already have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). So says a study, “Antiphospholipid antibodies can identify lupus patients at risk of pulmonary hypertension:…
A large Chinese cohort study has shown that anti-pentraxin 3 (PTX3) auto-antibodies were less prevalent in lupus nephritis patients with active disease than in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients without renal involvement, and was linked to less severe renal damage. These findings confirm the protective role of anti-PTX3 auto-antibodies in lupus nephritis. The…
Benlysta reduced systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) activity and improved patient outcomes, but smokers and those with significant organ damage failed to respond as well to it, according to a Swedish study. The findings could help doctors determine which patients could benefit the most from Benlysta, also known as belimumab or LymphoStat-B. The…
Evaluating heart function using an electrocardiogram (ECG) can be a useful noninvasive tool for early detection of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers found. The study, “Prevalence and associated factors of resting electrocardiogram abnormalities among systemic lupus erythematosus patients without…