The annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), which represents people with arthritis/rheumatism, health professionals and scientific societies of rheumatology of all the European nations, is currently in session. Results of two analyses from a Phase 2 study of Stelara® (ustekinumab) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were announced. The therapy has shown a sustained clinical benefit on disease activity management at one-year and a reduction in the rate of severe flares.

The first analysis was conducted on 102 adults with lupus. Long term results of Stelara were confirmed with a 4-fold decrease in the rate of severe flares with Stelara vs placebo. The second additional analysis of the Stelara Phase 2 study used biomarker data. The results showed that people who responded to Stelara had durable reductions in IFN-γ protein levels relative to baseline – a finding which was not observed in patients who did not respond to Stelara or who received placebo. These findings implicate the involvement of new pathways that require further research potentially leading to new understandings of the disease. The clinical trial used the Lupus Foundation of America REAL™ - Rapid Evaluation of Activity in Lupus - LFA-REAL tool to measure and evaluate lupus disease activity in study participants. Continue to follow the Lupus Foundation of America for updates on Stelara.

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