Blooms in the growth of a specific species of gut bacteria, called Ruminococcus blautia gnavus or RG, may trigger disease flares in people with lupus, a new study suggests. “Our findings provide the strongest evidence to date that silent growths of Ruminococcus blautia gnavus are tied to active serious…
The Lupus Research Alliance has awarded its 2023 Lupus Insight Prize to a researcher for her pioneering discovery that mutations in the TLR7 gene are a cause of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Carola Vinuesa, MD, PhD, assistant research director at The Francis Crick Institute in London, was given…
A new project incubating at Duke Advanced Practice Provider Leadership Institute (APPLI) seeks to foster a team approach to lupus care at Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina. The project is being led by Keisha-Gaye O’Garo, a clinical psychologist, and Karen McCain, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, both from…
Three new Phase 3 clinical trials testing the experimental therapy ianalumab in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis are now recruiting patients. All three trials are being sponsored by Novartis, the company developing ianalumab. Lupus Therapeutics, the clinical research affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance,…
Lupkynis (voclosporin) combined with background lupus treatments better preserved kidney function among a subgroup of lupus nephritis patients with particularly high protein levels in the urine (proteinuria) compared with background therapy alone. Notably, these benefits were observed regardless of patients’ baseline demographic or clinical characteristics, and they were…
A year of treatment with upadacitinib led to significant disease activity reductions for people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to data from the Phase 2 SLEek trial. It was similarly effective when used with the experimental treatment elsubrutinib, in a combination called ABBV-599, the researchers found. These and…
KYV-101, an investigational cell therapy from Kyverna Therapeutics, has been granted a fast track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of refractory lupus nephritis — a serious lupus complication characterized by kidney damage. Fast track status is granted to experimental therapies for…
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) and its clinical research affiliate, Lupus Therapeutics, have launched the largest, long-term prospective observational study in lupus with the goal of developing new, personalized treatments for the chronic immune system disorder. The Lupus Landmark Study is a key part of Lupus…
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has launched a new awareness campaign to help Black/African American and Hispanic/Latina women recognize the signs and symptoms of lupus. Dubbed “Be Fierce. Take Control,” the digital awareness campaign especially aims to reach young, undiagnosed women among this population, among whom…
Gracell Biotechnologies announced the launch of a Phase 1 clinical trial in China testing GC012F, its experimental dual FastCAR T-cell therapy, for hard-to-treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The investigator-initiated trial (NCT05846347), underway at The First Affiliated Hospital of the Zhejiang University College of Medicine, is recruiting adults ages…