Benlysta (belimumab) reduces disease activity, relapses, and the need for corticosteroids in patients with a high degree of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity, according to a new analysis of a Phase 3 clinical trial. The study, “Efficacy and safety of subcutaneous belimumab in anti‐dsDNA‐positive, hypocomplementemic…
Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that causes mononucleosis can increase a person’s risk of developing any of seven major autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, new and possibly ground-breaking research indicates. The study, “Transcription factors operate across disease loci, with…
Lupuzor (rigerimod, or IPP-201101) combined with standard therapy did not demonstrate a statistically significant response rate in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients over standard care alone, failing the primary goal of a Phase 3 clinical trial, according to top-line results. Although not statistically significant, the investigational treatment did, however, show…
The Lupus Research Alliance recently announced the nine winners of its Novel Research Grants, to support innovative research on lupus. The grants support research into the complexity of lupus from different perspectives. Among the nine winners, studies vary from testing new and existing therapies, to exploring paths for…
Treatment with 150 mg atacicept significantly improves outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with high disease activity, data from a Phase 2b clinical trial show. The results of the trial were presented recently at the 2018 SLEuro Annual Meeting in Dusseldorf, Germany in a poster titled “SRI response,…
A new test looking at the presence of 26 autoantibodies — antibodies targeting a person’s own healthy proteins — is better at diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and predicting its course than conventional ones, a study shows. The test was developed using several newly identified autoantibodies for SLE, and groups…
A Phase 2 clinical trial testing a Corbus Pharmaceuticals’ synthetic cannabinoid derivative – lenabasum (JBT-101) – for lupus patients is underway. The therapy has no psychotropic properties and is intended to treat joint inflammation associated with lupus. If proven effective, it may offer patients a…
Harmless bacteria that live in the skin, mouth and gut may trigger autoimmunity in people who are genetically disposed to it, according to a study with lupus implications. This means that targeting what scientists call commensal bacteria could be a way to development treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases,…
Treatment with atacicept — a protein that targets the immune system — significantly reduced disease flares in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), data from EMD Serono‘s Phase 2 trial shows. The study, “Reduction of systemic lupus flares by atacicept in a randomized, placebo- controlled,…
Zhijian “James” Chen, PhD recently was awarded the 2018 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) for his discovery of how DNA stimulates immune responses, potentially causing autoimmune diseases like lupus. The Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences will be presented to…