Amgen is launching a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate its investigational AMG 592 therapy in treating active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The randomized trial (NCT03451422) will test the therapy’s safety and effectiveness in patients with active lupus. Enrollment has not yet begun but is estimated at 132 participants. Therapy…
Scientists studying lupus or rheumatoid arthritis can obtain information on the individual cells of patients taking part in Phase 1 clinical trials, the National Institutes for Health has announced. A key reason the NIH started the Accelerating Medicines Partnership for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus initiative was to provide researchers with such information.
DxTerity Diagnostics researchers are seeking ways to develop an at-home blood test to monitor individual disease activity in lupus patients. The observational research project, LIFT (Lupus Interval Monitoring to Manage Disease Flare and Enable Treatment Optimization, uses health information and a few drops of blood collected at home to monitor treatment…
Researchers at the University of Houston have been awarded a $600,000 grant by the Lupus Research Alliance to design new approaches for targeting lupus nephritis, a kidney disease caused by lupus. The team will use the three-year grant to study how a protein called ALCAM (activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule) participates in the…
A combination of specific biomarkers — circulating immune complexes (CIC) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) — may help better predict disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), a recent study suggests. The study, “The model of circulating immune complexes and interleukin-6 improves the prediction of disease activity in…
ImmunoQure AG and Servier have entered into a strategic partnership to develop a new therapy that could benefit patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome. The planned therapy would consist of antibodies derived from humans that block the naturally occurring protein interferon alpha, a protein important in…
A video storytelling campaign and contest, called #IAmInvisibleNoMore, intended to raise awareness of “invisible” disabilities — which can range from lupus to heart disease or depression — has been launched by the Invisible Disabilities Association (IDA) and the private company Allsup. IDA is an advocacy and support group…
Canada’s Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has launched ALL IN, an educational program to raise awareness of lupus nephritis. The disease, which affects about 200,000 Americans, is an inflammation of the kidney caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It prevents kidneys from properly removing waste from the blood and controlling the…
Long-term use of Benlysta (belimumab), an approved therapy, is both safe and effective, reducing disease activity in most systemic lupus erythematosus patients, according to a study that followed patients in the U.S. for seven years. The multicenter extension study involved patients who had completed 72 weeks of treatment in the BLISS-76…
Researchers have found that the antibody epratuzumab, which targets CD22 receptors, significantly reduces the activity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in patients who also have Sjögren’s syndrome. A post-hoc analysis of the Phase 3 EMBODY trials, however, shows that the treatment is not effective in those without Sjögren’s syndrome. A post-hoc analysis…