A Phase 2 trial testing the effectiveness of afimetoran, Bristol-Myers Squibbs’ (BMS) investigational oral treatment for people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is underway. In-human testing was supported by preclinical evidence that demonstrated the therapy’s ability to prevent or reverse disease symptoms and halt death in mouse models. The…
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) has announced $9 million in grants — three awards each totaling $3 million — to fund new research projects that aim to better understand lupus and pave the way toward the development of better treatment strategies for the inflammatory autoimmune disease. The funding is…
Biogen’s experimental therapy litifilimab, also called BIIB059, significantly reduced skin disease activity in adults with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), according to data from part B of the Phase 2 LILAC trial. CLE is a type of lupus that’s also known as skin lupus. As its name suggests, skin…
The strongest genetic risk factor of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), HLA-DRB1*03:01, generates an abnormal protein that, in the presence of the pro-inflammatory interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), activates SLE-related genes and triggers SLE-characteristic cellular, tissue, and immune abnormalities. These are the findings of a new study in lab-grown human and mouse immune cells,…
Alpine Immune Sciences and Evotec announced the expansion of an agreement to manufacture ALPN-303, an experimental anti-inflammatory therapy that Alpine is developing for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other diseases driven by immune B-cells. Under the initial 2020 agreement, Evotec’s subsidiary Just-Evotec Biologics used its continuous manufacturing…
The six recipients of the 2022 Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) fellowships for young scientists will each pursue research in key areas of lupus investigation, including cardiovascular risks, genetics, biomarkers, and environmental factors. Awarded through the Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program, the grants are…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the use of Benlysta (belimumab), given on top of standard therapy, to treat children ages 5 to 17 with active lupus nephritis, a serious form of kidney inflammation caused by lupus. Benlysta is the first FDA-approved treatment for pediatric lupus…
Thermo Fisher Scientific has received regulatory authorization in the U.S. to market its EliA Rib-P blood test, designed to improve the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), particularly in patients without hallmark antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the new antibody test, along with…
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) has awarded a total of $2.1 million to five research projects from underrepresented minority scientists focused on the development of tests and treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). “We congratulate the inaugural recipients of our Diversity in Lupus Research Awards and look forward to…
Treatment with Benlysta (belimumab) induces meaningful and long-lasting reductions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity, helping a significant proportion of patients achieve durable remission or a status of low disease activity, a study in a real-world Italian population shows. Patients diagnosed in the prior two years, with…