November 2022

Belimumab Use During Pregnancy: Interim Results of the Belimumab Pregnancy Registry

Birth Defects Res. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1002/bdr2.2091

There was no pattern or common mechanism of birth defects associated with belimumab within the Belimumab Pregnancy Registry (BPR) data.

more…

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.

more…

October 2022

Do biological agents improve health-related quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus? Results from a systematic search of the literature

Autoimmun Rev. 2022 doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2022.103188

Gomez, et al. summarise the effects of biological therapies on SLE patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in RCT and real-life settings, based on a systematic search of the literature.

more…

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.

more…

Effect and safety profile of belimumab and tacrolimus combination therapy in thirty‑three patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Clin Rheumatol. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s10067-022-06325-6

A single-centre analysis of patients with SLE administered tacrolimus and belimumab shows this combination therapy to be well-tolerated, with a good efficacy profile and glucocorticoid-reducing effect.

more…

Trajectory of Damage Accrual in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus based on Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Factors

J Rheumatol. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.3899/jrheum.211135

Large study confirms that cumulative damage accrual is faster in African-Americans, compared to Caucasians, highlighting that ethnicity plays the major role in damage accrual, regardless of socioeconomic status.

more…

July 2022

Phase 3, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

van Vollenhoven RF, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1136/ard-2022-222858.

Phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in patients with active SLE, despite receiving standard-of-care, does not achieve primary and key secondary endpoints.

more…