Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
February 2025
Opportunities and limitations of B bell depletion approaches in SLE
Nature Review Rheumatol, 2025;21:111–126 DOI: 10.1038/s41584-024-01210-9
Stockfelt et al. reviewed the long-term efficacy and challenges of B cell depletion strategies in SLE. Rituximab, a CD20-targeting monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated efficacy in a subset of patients but remains limited by immunogenicity, residual B cells, and B-cell activating factor (BAFF)-mediated relapse. Newer strategies incorporating CAR T cells, bispecific T cell engagers, and combination therapies aim to enhance B cell depletion and optimise outcomes.
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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.
November 2022
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.
March 2022
Phase II randomised trial of type I interferon inhibitor anifrolumab in patients with active lupus nephritis
Ann Rheum Dis. 2022;81(4):496–506 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221478
Despite not meeting the primary endpoint, this Phase II trial of anifrolumab in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN) demonstrates that anifrolumab IR is associated with numerical improvements over placebo across endpoints – including complete renal response – in patients with active LN.
A secondary analysis of the Belimumab International Study in Lupus Nephritis trial examined effects of belimumab on kidney outcomes and preservation of kidney function in patients with lupus nephritis
Kidney Int. 2022;101(2):403-413 doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2021.08.027
Post-hoc analysis data suggests that the addition of belimumab to standard therapy may be effective in preserving long-term kidney function in patients with lupus nephritis (LN).
Efficacy of anifrolumab across organ domains in patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus: a post-hoc analysis of pooled data from the TULIP-1 and TULIP-2 trials
Lancet Rheumatol. Published online February 3, 2022
Across two pivotal phase 3 trials (TULIP-1 and TULIP-2), anifrolumab treatment improved systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity across multiple organ domains, compared with placebo.