Voclosporin, a drug being developed to treat lupus nephritis (LN), appears to be safe for patients regardless of ethnicity, according to a Phase 1 clinical trial conducted in healthy Japanese, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals reports. The treatment also has a good pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profile. PK refers to the body’s reaction to a drug…
The world’s first registry for patients with lupus and other autoimmune diseases has gone online, just in time for National Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month in March. The Autoimmune Research Network (ARNet), launched by the Michigan-based American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), is a research network that lets scientists obtain data on patients…
Reactive oxygen species in cells’ mitochondria trigger an immune response widely detected in patients with lupus, researchers have discovered. The finding suggests the potential for a new therapeutic avenue to ameliorate the effects of the chronic autoimmune disease. The study, “Reactive oxygen species induce virus-independent MAVS oligomerization in…
China has issued a patent for Neovacs’ interferon alpha (IFNα) vaccine for diseases characterized by over-expression of the cytokine IFNα, including lupus, dermatomyositis and type 1 diabetes. The patent, together with others Neovacs has obtained, give the company global protection for the vaccine until at least 2032. Neovacs’ technology targets…
Years of persistent detective work allowed researchers to discover a gene mutation that increases the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases Interestingly, the gene is also associated with lower production of reactive oxygen species. These chemicals, which contain oxygen, play roles in cell signaling and homeostasis, or…
The Lupus Foundation of America is accepting funding applications from students and researchers working in lupus research. “Lupus is a complex disease that presents challenges that can only be overcome by a robust public and private medical research effort,” Sandra C. Raymond, the foundation’s president and CEO, said in a news…
A patient treated with Benlysta (belimumab), an FDA-approved treatment for active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), developed central nervous system nocardiosis, according to a recent case report. The report, “A Case Of Central Nervous System Nocardiosis In A Patient With Lupus Treated With Belimumab,” was published in the European…
The Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating interferon-alpha (IFNα) Kinoid, Neovacs’ immunotherapy candidate for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), received a positive interim data review from the Independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (IDSMB) overseeing the study. The randomized, multicenter and international clinical trial (NCT02665364) is evaluating the biological…
Treatment with azathioprine, a drug commonly used in autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), may considerably increase a person’s risk for serious bone marrow diseases known as myeloid neoplasms, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic. Researchers reported that people using azathioprine could be at seven times higher risk of…
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) had lower disease activity when they took the investigational treatment anifrolumab along with standard medications, according to a recently completed Phase 2b clinical trial (NCT01438489). Noting the treatment’s potential to target several organs and ease the disease’s symptoms, researchers called the trial “the…