Author Archives: Margarida Maia

NKT cell activators potential SLE treatment, preclinical data show

GRI Bio announced what it called “encouraging preclinical data” on two systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) treatment candidates. SLE is the most common form of lupus. GRI-0124, an oral small molecule being developed to activate natural killer T-cells, or NKT cells, and keep autoimmune attacks in check eased inflammation…

FDA updates Lupkynis label to include long-term efficacy data

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated the prescribing label for Lupkynis (voclosporin), which is approved to treat a severe manifestation of lupus called lupus nephritis, to include data that shows it continues to safely preserve kidney function for up to three years. The data came…

LuGENE blood test may help personalize treatment for lupus

Ampel BioSolutions is launching LuGENE, a blood test that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to look at a patient’s gene activity and predict when lupus flares are likely to happen and which medications could be most effective to keep symptoms in check. LuGENE is currently available through the company-sponsored…

Lupus Therapeutics, Artiva team up on AlloNK Phase 1 trial

Lupus Therapeutics is collaborating with Artiva Biotherapeutics on a Phase 1 clinical trial testing AlloNK, a natural killer (NK) cell therapy candidate, in patients with lupus nephritis, which is one of the most common and severe complications of lupus that affects the kidneys. With a single clinical…

1st CAR T-cell trial in children with lupus in US gets FDA go-ahead

Seattle Children’s has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start the nation’s first clinical trial testing CAR T-cell therapy in children with systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common form of lupus. The trial, Reversing Autoimmunity through Cell Therapy (REACT-01), is targeted for a summer…

Most benefit of RSLV-132 seen in patients with more active SLE

Treatment with RSLV-132 failed to lessen the severity and visible damage caused by skin lesions in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a Phase 2 clinical trial. But the experimental RNA-digesting enzyme did tend to ease general symptoms in patients with more active SLE. That’s according to data…

DNA-bound proteins from NETs predict worse kidney outcomes

DNA-bound proteins released from traps cast by neutrophils, a type of immune cell, may help predict which lupus nephritis patients are most likely to respond to treatment two years after a renal (kidney) flare, a study indicates. Those with higher levels of Elastase-DNA and HMGB1-DNA were…

Longer clinical remission leads to better kidney function: Study

People with lupus nephritis who are in clinical remission, with no symptoms for at least one year, are 82% less likely to experience impaired kidney function than those who do not remain in remission, a study has found. Moreover, longer sustained remission increases the odds of patients staying in remission…