Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
December 2022
Low-dose Interleukin-2 Therapy in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (LUPIL-2): A Multicentre, Double-blind, Randomised and Placebo-controlled Phase II Trial
Ann Rheum Dis. 2022;81:1685–1694
Phase II proof-of-concept trial confirms that low-dose IL-2 therapy can safely and selectively expand the Treg population, and is capable of reducing disease activity in patients with SLE.
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase III Extension Trial of the Long-Term Safety and Tolerability of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1002/art.42392
Long-term extension study shows an acceptable long-term safety profile of anifrolumab in SLE, in addition to sustained improvements in disease activity and reduction in glucocorticoid use.
November 2022
Safety and Efficacy of Belimumab in Patients with Lupus Nephritis
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2022;17:1620–1630 doi: 10.2215/CJN.02520322
This 28-week, open-label extension of BLISS-LN found no new safety signals and maintained efficacy with belimumab, in patients with lupus nephritis.
Trial of Anti-BDCA2 Antibody Litifilimab for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
N Engl J Med. 2022;387(10):894–904 doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2118025
Phase 2 study, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, shows that litifilimab is associated with a greater reduction from baseline in the number of swollen and tender joints than placebo, over a period of 24 weeks.
September 2022
Trial of Anti-BDCA2 Antibody Litifilimab for Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
N Engl J Med. 2022;387(4):321–331 doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2118024
Phase II study, in patients with active cutaneous lupus erythematosus, shows that litifilimab improved scores on a measure of skin disease activity, over 16 weeks, compared to placebo.
Effect and safety profile of belimumab and tacrolimus combination therapy in thirty‑three patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Clin Rheumatol. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s10067-022-06325-6
A single-centre analysis of patients with SLE administered tacrolimus and belimumab shows this combination therapy to be well-tolerated, with a good efficacy profile and glucocorticoid-reducing effect.
July 2022
Phase 3, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
van Vollenhoven RF, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1136/ard-2022-222858.
Phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in patients with active SLE, despite receiving standard-of-care, does not achieve primary and key secondary endpoints.
June 2022
Filgotinib or lanraplenib in moderate to severe cutaneous lupus erythematosus: a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022;61(6):2413–2423 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab685
Proof-of-concept study for the safety and efficacy of filgotinib (FIL) and lanraplenib (LANRA) in cutaneous lupus (CLE) fails to meet primary endpoint, but select subgroups displayed a numerically greater treatment response to FIL relative to placebo.
Indirect treatment comparison of anifrolumab efficacy versus belimumab in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus
J Comp Eff Res. 2022;11(10):765–777 doi: 10.2217/cer-2022-0040
Population-adjusted comparative study provides insights for decision makers and clinicians about the comparative efficacy of anifrolumab and belimumab in patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are receiving standard therapy.
In the absence of head-to-head comparisons, Bruce, et al. assessed the comparative efficacy of the two biological therapies currently approved in the EU and USA for the treatment of moderate-to-severe SLE (anifrolumab 300 mg and belimumab 10 mg/kg).
After adjusting for important cross-trial differences, their results showed that anifrolumab was associated with significantly greater treatment benefits than belimumab.
May 2022
Anifrolumab efficacy and safety by type I interferon gene signature and clinical subgroups in patients with SLE: post hoc analysis of pooled data from two phase III trials
Ann Rheum Dis. 2022; 0:1–11. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221425
IFN-I signalling plays a key role in SLE pathogenesis, and anifrolumab has demonstrated inhibitory effects on IFN-I signalling in patients with SLE. Vital, et al. characterised efficacy and safety of anifrolumab in patients with moderate-to-severe SLE based on interferon gene signature, demographic and clinical subgroups using data pooled from the Phase III TULIP-1 and -2 trials.