Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
October 2025
A Phase 3 trial of telitacicept for systemic lupus erythematosus
N Engl J Med 2025;393:1475-85 Doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2414719
In this 52-week trial involving participants with active SLE who were receiving background therapy, the incidence of a clinical response was higher with telitacicept than with PBO. van Vollenhoven et al. report efficacy and safety results of a Phase 3 trial of telitacicept at a dose of 160mg weekly as compared with PBO in Chinese persons with active SLE.
August 2025
Efficacy, pharmacokinetics and safety of iscalimab (CFZ533) in patients with proliferative lupus nephritis: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase II study
RMD Open 2025;11:e005557 Doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2025-005557
Shen N et al. report that iscalimab was clinically effective and generally well tolerated; in addition, it was devoid of the thromboembolic risk, characteristic of Fc active anti-CD40L therapies.
February 2025
Efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab in active lupus nephritis
NEJM, 2025. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2410965
Furie et al. demonstrated that obinutuzumab plus standard therapy significantly improved complete renal response at Wk76 compared with placebo. No unexpected safety signals were identified, though infections and COVID-19-related events were more frequent in the obinutuzumab group.
Belimumab versus telitacicept in sequential treatment after rituximab for refractory lupus nephritis: A real-world multicentre study
Lupus Science & Medicine, 2025;12:e001296 DOI:10.1136/lupus-2024-001296
Chen et al. demonstrated that sequential treatment with belimumab or telitacicept following rituximab (RTX) is a potential therapeutic approach for treating refractory LN. Major AEs included immunoglobin deficiency, respiratory tract infections and urinary tract infections, which are consistent with previous studies.
November 2024
Efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors for the primary prevention of cardiovascular, renal events and safety outcomes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and comorbid type 2 diabetes: A population-based target trial emulation
Arthritis Rheumatol 2024. Epub ahead of print DOI: 10.1002/art.43037
Ma et al. assessed the efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) compared with dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP4i) in preventing cardiovascular and renal events in patients with both SLE and type 2 diabetes (T2D). SGLT2i use significantly reduced risks for acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease, and heart failure, though it increased genital infection risk.
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May 2024
SLESIS-R: an improved score for prediction of serious infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus based on the RELESSER prospective cohort
Lupus Sci Med. 2024; 11(1): e001096 DOI: 10.1136/lupus-2023-001096
SLESIS-R may help clinicians make informed decisions on the occurrence of a serious infection in the following year in SLE from four variables: age ≥60 years, previous admission for SLE, previous infection and having received a maximum dose of glucocorticoids ≥30 mg.
June 2023
Early Infection Risk in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Treated with Rituximab or Belimumab from the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group Biologics Register (BILAG-BR): A Prospective Longitudinal Study
Lancet Rheumatol 2023;5:e284–92 doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00091-7
Data from a large prospective registry (BILAG-BR) highlight that, compared with standard of care, the serious infection risk was similar between rituximab and belimumab.