Autoimmune Disease News and Research

RSS

Autoimmune Disease is a condition in which the body recognizes its own tissues as foreign and directs an immune response against them.

Positive results from Intercept OCA Phase II trial in patients with PBC

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced positive results from a 59 patient, placebo controlled, double-blind Phase II clinical trial of obeticholic acid given as monotherapy to patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

1 Apr 2011

Essential protein linked to TNF induced inflammation

SCIENTISTS have discovered an essential protein that controls inflammation induced by 'tumour necrosis factor' (TNF) - an important part of the body's defences against infection and a driver of cancer-associated inflammation, according to research published in Nature today (Wednesday).

31 Mar 2011

Angioplasty procedures have minimal risk

Understanding that angioplasty—a medical treatment used by interventional radiologists to widen the veins in the neck and chest to improve blood flow—is safe may encourage additional studies for its use as a treatment option for individuals with multiple sclerosis, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, Ill.

28 Mar 2011

Lupus nephritis ESRD study finds increase in incidence rates among children, African Americans

New research documenting changes in the incidence and outcomes of end-stage renal disease in the U.S. between 1995 and 2006, found a significant increase in incidence rates among patients 5 to 39 years of age and in African Americans.

28 Mar 2011

Researchers identify new mechanism underlying MS

Multiple sclerosis is a disabling autoimmune disease in which nerve fibers are attacked by the patient's own immune system. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich have identified a new mechanism that contributes to nerve fiber damage - and shown that this damage can be reversed.

28 Mar 2011

AARDA report on American economic impact of AD released at congressional briefing

A new report by the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association examining the economic impact of autoimmune disease on Americans, their families and the United States was released today at a congressional briefing as part of AARDA's 2011 National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month activities.

23 Mar 2011

SGEN, Abbott enter collaboration agreement for ADC products

Seattle Genetics, Inc.today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Abbott under which Abbott will pay an upfront fee of $8 million for rights to utilize Seattle Genetics' antibody-drug conjugate technology with antibodies to a single oncology target.

23 Mar 2011

Genetic errors in women linked to increased risk of preeclampsia

Scientists have identified genetic errors in women with autoimmune diseases that increase the risk of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs in 10 percent of all pregnancies.

23 Mar 2011

New lozenge clinical trial for dry mouth treatment

A clinical trial using an all-natural lozenge to treat dry mouth, a condition that impacts 40 percent of American adults, is under way at Georgia Health Sciences University College of Dental Medicine.

17 Mar 2011

Millennium, SGEN expand ADC collaboration

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today that Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, has paid an undisclosed fee to exercise an option to designate a second antigen target under the parties' existing antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) collaboration.

16 Mar 2011

New study identifies 15 genetic regions underlying primary biliary cirrhosis

Researchers have provided new clues into the genetics underlying a chronic form of liver disease, called primary biliary cirrhosis, which can lead to transplant surgery for patients.

14 Mar 2011

New drug for Lupus approved

A new drug for lupus has won U.S. approval. The drug, Benlysta from Human Genome Sciences Inc., is administered once a month intravenously.

12 Mar 2011

Scientific advances at Scripps Research lay foundation for new lupus drug Benlysta

Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute were key to laying the foundation for the new drug Benlysta® (belimumab), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benlysta®, which treats the most common type of lupus, is the first in a new class of pharmaceuticals that prevents the body from attacking its own critical tissues.

11 Mar 2011

NIH awards Avaxia Phase I SBIR grant to develop novel antibody therapeutic for celiac disease

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotech company using its proprietary platform technology to develop orally-active antibody therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support the development of a novel antibody therapeutic for celiac disease.

11 Mar 2011

Idera reports $6.0 million net loss for fourth quarter 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.

10 Mar 2011

ALR commits funding for new study to identify lupus susceptibility genes in multiple ethnicities

The Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) – the world's largest private funder of lupus research – today announced funding of an important new study to identify lupus susceptibility genes in multiple ethnicities including African Americans, who are three times more likely than Caucasians to have the disease.

10 Mar 2011

FDA approves BENLYSTA for active, autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved BENLYSTA® (belimumab) for the treatment of adult patients with active, autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are receiving standard therapy.

10 Mar 2011

Human Genome Sciences receives FDA approval for Benlysta to treat lupus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Benlysta to treat patients with active, autoantibody-positive lupus who are receiving standard therapy, including corticosteroids, antimalarials, immunosuppressives, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

9 Mar 2011

Merck to present VICTRELIS phase III study data against HCV at EASL annual meeting

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that several new data analyses from Phase III studies of VICTRELIS, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, will be presented at The International Liver CongressTM / 46th European Association for the Study of the Liver annual meeting.

9 Mar 2011

LRI announces 12 new research grants to drive innovation in lupus

The Lupus Research Institute today announced the award of 12 new research grants, building on its decade-long commitment to drive innovation and discover novel approaches to understand and treat one of the world's most confounding and elusive diseases - lupus.

9 Mar 2011