Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
June 2023
Remission of Lupus Nephritis: The Trajectory of Histological Response in Successfully Treated Patients
Lupus Sci Med. 2023;10(1):e000932 doi: 10.1136/lupus-2023-000932
LN histological activity takes months to years to resolve, providing a rationale for the need of long-term, well-tolerated maintenance immunosuppression.
May 2023
Belimumab Versus Anifrolumab in Adults with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: An Indirect Comparison of Clinical Response at 52 Weeks
Lupus Sci. Med 2023;10:e000907 doi 10.1136/lupus-2023-000907
This retrospective study by Neupane, et al. compared belimumab and anifrolumab efficacy at 52 weeks in SLE patients. It concluded that belimumab and anifrolumab have equal efficacy, but further studies would be needed for specific patient demographics.
Litifilimab (BIIB059), a Promising Investigational Drug for Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2023;15:1-9 doi 10.1080/13543784.2023.2212154
Cho, et al. discuss the current challenges in the approval of CLE drugs and suggest outcome measures that could streamline the process. They also discuss the pharmacodynamics of litifilimab and the current status of clinical trials.
March 2023
Baricitinib for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: a Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial (SLE-BRAVE-II)
Lancet. 2023 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02546-6
Negative results of SLE-BRAVE-II trial show that evidence for the efficacy of baricitinib in SLE is inconclusive.
Baricitinib for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: a Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 Trial (SLE-BRAVE-I)
Lancet. 2023 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02607-1
Primary endpoint in SLE-BRAVE-I study was met for the 4 mg baricitinib group, however, key secondary endpoints were not.
February 2023
Lupus Low Disease Activity State Attainment in the Phase 3 TULIP Trials of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Ann Rheum Dis. 2023. doi: 10.1136/ard-2022-222748
Post-hoc anaylsis of TULIP trials shows that, compared with placebo, anifrolumab treatment was associated with earlier, more frequent, and more prolonged and sustained lupus low disease activity state (LLDAS).
January 2023
New Biologics and Targeted Therapies in Systemic Lupus: From New Molecular Targets to New Indications. A Systematic Review
Joint Bone Spine. 2023.
Systematic review of new biologics and targeted therapies in systemic lupus identifies a highly diversified pipeline of investigational drugs that will hopefully enable a more optimal treat-to-target strategy.
Efficacy and Safety of the Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Evobrutinib in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Results of a Phase II, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Dose-Ranging Trial
ACR Open Rheumatol. 2023;5(1):38–48 doi: 10.1002/acr2.11511
Results of a phase II trial of evobrutinib suggest that Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibition is not an efficacious therapeutic intervention over standard of care therapy for patients with SLE.
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.