Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Lonza have entered into a long-term manufacturing agreement over the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in voclosporin, Aurinia’s investigative drug for diseases that include lupus nephritis (LN). The agreement aims toward providing an eventual commercial supply of voclosporin, and includes its use in an upcoming and possibly pivotal clinical trial in LN…
Researchers have uncovered genetic differences explaining why autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, affect women more than men. And opposed to what earlier research suggested, the mechanisms are unrelated to sex hormones. The findings indicate that it may be crucial for scientists to study male and female disease separately.
Measuring the levels of a protein called epidermal growth factor — a promising kidney biomarker — in patients with lupus may help distinguish patients with kidney involvement from those without, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. Their findings were presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney…
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it has filed a New Drug Application with Japan’s regulatory health agency requesting that belimumab — widely known under the brand name Benlysta — be approved to treat adults with active, autoantibody-positive, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus) who do not respond to standard therapy. GSK seeks approval…
A new research study exploring the effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on hearing, cognition, and language is calling for volunteers. The study, to be conducted at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders of East Stroudsburg University, aims to better understand both these…
The immune factor interferon-lambda may be a key driver of lupus nephritis, according to a recent study that showed persistently high levels of the factor were linked to a poor response to treatment. The study, “Interferon (IFN)-λ is a potential mediator in lupus nephritis,” was published in the journal …
Patients with one autoimmune disease should be closely monitored because they may have a higher risk of developing another autoimmune disease according to a study published in the journal Autoimmune Highlights.
A large-scale retrospective study found that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may be twice as likely to develop dementia as others of similar age and sex, a finding that may help to improve their care. The study, “Increased Risk of Dementia in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Nationwide…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast-track status to Neovacs’ vaccine IFNα Kinoid, which is being evaluated as a treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The vaccine is aimed at blocking interferon alpha, or IFNa, a protein linked to lupus. The more IFNa that patients have, the…
The flu vaccine is effective and associated with a lower risk of hospitalization, pneumonia, admission to the intensive care unit, in-hospital dialysis, and death in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a study published in the leading scientific journal Scientific Reports suggests.