Low blood levels of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) put people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at higher risk of experiencing disease exacerbations, or flare-ups, a study has found. “We found that low HCQ blood levels predicted lupus flares,” researchers wrote, noting that low levels can reflect poor treatment adherence but also individual…
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has allowed Aurinia Pharmaceuticals submit a new patented method of using Lupkynis (voclosporin), its approved oral treatment for lupus nephritis. The new application (No. 17/713,140), titled, “Improved Protocol for Treatment of Lupus Nephritis,” covers a method of using Lupkynis in combination with…
The approvals of new medications in the last few years have dramatically shifted the treatment landscape for lupus nephritis, a severe manifestation of lupus characterized by kidney inflammation, with a sharp drop found in the use of rituximab. That’s according to the market research group Spherix Global Insights,…
Blocking CD71, a protein that cells use to import iron, reduced the disease-driving inflammatory activity of immune cells in preclinical models of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a new study shows. The study, “Elevated transferrin receptor impairs T cell metabolism and function in systemic lupus erythematosus,” was…
A test of galectin-3-binding protein (G3BP) levels in the urine is an easy way to distinguish lupus nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), from other forms of lupus where the kidneys are not affected, a study suggested. Researchers also observed that protein levels…
A team led by researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Research Institute has been given two grants to investigate the potential causes of lupus flares. The research team will focus on exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying skin sensitivity to light, or photosensitivity, and lupus flares in people…
Ventus Therapeutics plans to develop a new treatment candidate for lupus and other inflammatory diseases marked by the activation of the type 1 interferon immune system pathway, the company recently announced. Called VENT-03, the investigational treatment will target cGAS, a protein whose activation has been implicated in…
The first patient has been enrolled in RECAST DLE, a Phase 2 study evaluating daxdilimab, a potentially first-in-class therapy for moderate-to-severe discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), a form of lupus that affects the skin. Horizon Therapeutics, the therapy’s developer, expects to enroll about 100 DLE patients, ages 18–75 whose…
A small molecule called K-7174 was found to ease neuropsychiatric symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a recent study in mice, and even helped to improve cognitive function. Researchers found that treatment with the molecule may protect against neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) by preserving the selective blood-brain barrier (BBB),…
Treatment with cenerimod showed promising trends toward reducing disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), especially in people with more severe disease, according to data from a Phase 2b clinical trial. The therapy’s developer, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, announced the launch of a Phase 3 trial program to further explore cenerimod’s…