Updates on the latest treatment news from ACR 2019

This week, at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting, several pharmaceutical companies have shared exciting treatment news. The reported, positive data from the latest clinical trials is an important step forward to more treatment options for lupus.

Here is the latest news:

• Data from Genentech’s Phase II NOBILITY study investigating the safety and efficacy of gazyva showed that in combination with standard of care, it more than doubles the percentage of lupus nephritis patients achieving complete renal response, compared to standard of care alone. Read more.
• AstraZeneca presented positive Phase III TULIP 2 trial results for anifrolumab, a potential new medicine for the treatment of moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The data shows that anifrolumab outperformed the placebo on multiple outcomes, including overall disease activity, skin disease and oral corticosteroid tapering. Read more.
• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals announced that the drug voclosporin successfully completed a clinical drug-drug interaction study in people with lupus. The findings demonstrate the drug has no clinically significant interactions with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a treatment considered to be part of the current standard of care for lupus nephritis in the U.S. Read more.
• Janssen Biotech, Inc. shared results from a phase-2 trial of Stelara, showing the drug improves Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area & Severity Index (CLASI) activity scores compared to placebo.  CLASI is a measurement of disease activity and skin-related damage in cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE). These promising results are expected to be confirmed in an ongoing phase-3 study. Read more.
• RemeGen shared that telitacicept successfully completed its phase 2b study. It effectively reduced disease activity and was well tolerated in people with lupus in combination with standard therapy. Read more.
• Results from a phase 1b/2a trial of tofacitinib (XELJANZ), currently used to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, show the drug was well tolerated in people with lupus with mild to moderate disease activity. In addition, the findings point to the potential utility of including genetic data in clinical trials to advance precision medicine. Long-term studies are needed. Read more.
• UCB and Biogen shared that while dapirolizumab pegol (DZP) was generally well-tolerated in people with lupus in combination with standard of care and showed consistent improvements in disease activity across doses, it failed to meet its endpoint upon drug withdrawal. Investigation in a larger study is warranted. Read more.

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