Adding the experimental oral therapy voclosporin to standard treatment is safe, and its use more than doubles complete kidney responses in people with lupus nephritis, results from the Phase 3 AURORA study show. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, the company developing voclosporin, plans to finish its rolling application to the U.S. Food…
More stringent thresholds in the Cutaneous Lupus Activity and Severity Index (CLASI), a common tool to assess disease progression and treatment response in cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), can better identify patients with clinical improvements, a study reports. Its findings also suggest that people who develop CLE early in…
While people with systemic lupus erythematous lupus (SLE) are experiencing fewer eye complications directly linked to the disease, treatment-induced eye toxicity and age-related eye complications are becoming more frequent, a single-center study shows. The study, “Ocular involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a paradigm shift based…
Elevated blood levels of a marker called galectin-9 may help identify people with systemic lupus erythematous lupus (SLE) who have more active disease and organ damage, a study suggests. The study “Galectin-9 as a biomarker for disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus” was published in the journal…
Hardening of the kidney arteries, a condition called renal arteriosclerosis, is detected two decades earlier in people with lupus nephritis compared with healthy individuals, a study shows. The study, “High Burden of Premature Arteriosclerosis on Renal Biopsies in Incident Lupus Nephritis,” was published in the journal…
Levels of proteins associated with changes in the inner wall of blood vessels — the endothelium — are higher in children and adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and are potential biomarkers of disease activity, as well as of brain and kidney involvement, a study suggests. The study, “…
People with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who stop treatment with hydroxychloroquine less than 12 months after its start are at a higher risk of flares than those who continue using it for at least one year, a study suggests. The research, “Outcomes of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in…
More than 40% of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients do not comply with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) therapy, even among people who have insurance coverage, low copayments, and availability of high levels of care, a study reveals. Meanwhile, being older, white, and having more frequent rheumatology visits — suggesting higher…
A Phase 3 trial assessing the potential of voclosporin as an add-on to standard treatment for people with lupus nephritis has completed patient visits. “With the completion of patient visits in the AURORA study, we now look forward to reporting out the efficacy and safety results by the…
Apellis Pharmaceuticals has decided to stop the development of an experimental therapy known as APL-2 for lupus nephritis and primary membranous nephropathy after the completion of an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial. The open-label Phase 2 DISCOVERY trial (NCT03453619) is testing APL-2 in four kidney…