News

Cellenkos announced a new collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop cord blood regulatory T-cell (CB TREG) therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders such as lupus. The company will fund up to $10 million for the CB TREG program over five years. Led by Simrit Parmar…

The rate of cardiovascular events in lupus patients increased during the second half of a 15-year period, a long-term study found. Cardiovascular events included angina (chest pain), fatal or nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (MI), transient ischemic attack (“mini-stroke”), fatal and nonfatal stroke, and cardiovascular (CV) death. The study, titled “…

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the U.S. live on average 22 years less — and men an average of 12 fewer years — than members of the same sex among the public at large, according to new data from Stanford University. Leading causes of death for female…

With a $387,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at the University of Houston are developing a new diagnostic test for lupus patients that uses saliva instead of the standard invasive methods. Led by Chandra Mohan, MD, PhD, and a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor of biomedical engineering,…

New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) says its free telephone support line and education program for lupus patients has proven to be a valuable resource. HSS says its free LupusLine, now 29 years old, receives calls from around the world. People mostly know about it through their physicians,…

The European Commission has approved the new, self-administered and injectable formulation of  Benlysta (belimumab), by GSK, as an add-on therapy for certain adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The approval applies to lupus patients with active autoantibody-positive disease and high disease activity in spite of standard therapy.

EMD Serono‘s atacicept can effectively reduce disease activity among lupus patients with high disease activity at baseline, according to new data from the Phase 2b ADDRESS II trial. The study, “Attainment of Low Disease Activity By Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Starting with High Disease Activity in a 24-Week,…

GlaxoSmithKline’s Benlysta reduced lupus patients’ need for higher doses of corticosteroids, a therapy that is beneficial but causes long-term organ damage, an additional analysis of Phase 3 clinical trial results shows. In addition, a combination of Benlysta and corticosteroids reduced patients’ organ damage more than corticosteroids alone over five years, two extensions…

Obese women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a poorer quality of life and suffer more symptoms than women of normal weight, according to new research presented at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego. The study, “Obesity Independently Associates with Worse Patient Reported Outcomes in Women with Systemic…

Janssen announced that its investigational antibody Stelara (ustekinumab) showed positive results in a Phase 2 trial as a therapy for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Based on these results, the company said it would further test Stelara in a Phase 3 development program planned for 2018. The study, “Efficacy and…