News

DxTerity Diagnostics’ interferon-1 gene signature test, which can be used to help guide treatment decisions for people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is now available for use in all 50 U.S. states, the company has announced. “It is our mission to transform patient care with precision diagnostic tools that…

Active lupus nephritis — kidney inflammation as a result of lupus — is associated with a much higher risk of pregnancy complications, such as fetal loss and preeclampsia, according to a new analysis. The study also showed pregnancy complications are more common in Black women with lupus than among…

Litifilimab (BIIB059), Biogen’s investigational antibody-based treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), significantly reduced the number of swollen and tender joints in people with the autoimmune inflammatory disease over six months, new trial data show. With these positive results, the treatment candidate met the main goal of part A of the…

The incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has increased in the U.S. the past four decades, a recent study shows. Study data also indicated the increased incidence seen during that time was significantly higher among racial and ethnic minority populations. “As the US population grows more diverse, we might continue…

The Lupus Foundation of America and Lupus Canada are funding a new study to better understand the role of platelets in lupus. The Lupus Canada Catalyst Award, a one-year grant to fund research for a scientist in Canada studying the autoimmune disease, was awarded to Éric Boilard,…

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…