Neovacs announced it has concluded a four-year, €5 million ($5.5 million) non-dilutive funding agreement to finalize clinical development and start the production process for its therapeutic IFN Kinoid vaccine. The funding, in the form of grants and repayable advances, came through a decision of The General Commission for Investment, operated by Bpifrance, a subsidiary of the French…
Dutch biopharmaceutical company argenx recently announced the completion of the dose-escalation stage of a Phase 1 clinical trial exploring its drug candidate ARGX-113, a potential breakthrough therapy for treatment of exacerbations of IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Preliminary data of the trial demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile…
Atherosclerosis is highly prevalent among Danish patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without any history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers at Odense University Hospital reported, further noting that the evaluation of more than one vascular territory was necessary to diagnose the disease in these patients. Their research paper, titled “Coronary, Carotid, and Lower-extremity…
A recent systematic review, published in the International Journal of Chronic Diseases, revealed the prevalence of the central nervous system (CNS) involvement — rather than the peripheral nervous system (PNS) — in connective tissue disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus. But more research is needed to understand whether these CNS…
The development of new drugs to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in comparison to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, has been excruciatingly slow. Benlysta (belimumab) is the rare exception, the only  SLE drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past 50 years. A biomarker assay for SLE…
In a recent review, researchers from the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of Houston discussed promising advances in noninvasive biomarker detection in patients with lupus, a disease whose diagnosis has typically been confirmed through a very invasive renal biopsy. The review was titled “Protein Arrays for Biomarker Discovery in…
According to a new study by physicians at Loyola University Medical Center, diseases such as lupus that cause rashes and other skin conditions can also trigger severe neurological problems — ranging from migraine headaches to double vision and epileptic seizures to strokes. The study, titled “Acquired Neurocutaneous Disorders,” was published…
Neovacs recently announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing contract granting Chong Kun Dang (CKD) Pharmaceutical Corp. of Seoul the right to market IFNα-Kinoïd, Neovacs’ anti-interferon alpha (IFNα) therapeutic vaccine being developed for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in South Korea. Lupus is considered an orphan disease in South…
Lupuzor, a non-immunosuppressant therapy for lupus created by Dr. Sylviane Muller’s team at the CNRS Immunopathologie et Chimie Thérapeutique laboratory, is progressing to a Phase 3 clinical trial, the last stage before possible market approval. Several American and European physicians and investigators recently gathered in Paris to discuss the launch of…
Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) results from a mistaken response of the body’s immune system against healthy tissue affecting several organs such as skin, kidneys and brain. The underlying causes of SLE remain unknown although several evidences point towards an important role of gut microbes, also known as gut microbiota. Researchers…