Autoimmune Disease News and Research

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

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

$100 million in grants for medical research announced

More than $100 million in grants was announced this Tuesday for an ambitious research project that will try to find what makes cancer so hard to beat. This project received $21.3 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council grants.

8 Mar 2011

New Lupus drug marching towards approval

A new drug for lupus from the Human Genome Sciences Inc is all set to get clearance in the US this week. If all goes through, this drug will offer patients the first approved treatment option in a half-century, setting the manufacturer up for huge sales.

7 Mar 2011

Scientists identify regulatory T cells responsible for limiting immune response

Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified the key immune cell population responsible for regulating the body's immune response.

6 Mar 2011

Members of Congress receive messages from lupus advocates during Lupus Advocacy Day

Members of Congress received more than 2500 emails, messages, and stories from lupus advocates across the country during the Lupus Foundation of America's Thirteenth Annual Advocacy Day held February 28-March 1, 2011. More than 200 individuals met in person with their Congressional Representatives and staff on Capitol Hill, and countless others called, wrote letters, or helped spread the word online through Facebook and Twitter, to raise awareness about the need for increased federal funding for lupus research, education, and awareness programs.

5 Mar 2011

Pfizer's ORAL Sync Phase 3 study of tofacitinib in moderate-to-severe RA meets primary endpoints

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the ORAL Sync Phase 3 study of tofacitinib, formerly known as tasocitinib, an investigational, novel, oral JAK inhibitor, being studied in moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, met its primary endpoints by showing statistically significant changes versus placebo in reducing signs and symptoms of RA, as measured by ACR20 response rates at six months; in improving physical function, as measured by mean change in HAQ DI at three months; and in reaching DAS28-4 <2.6 at six months.

5 Mar 2011

Early diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis critical to avoid disability, deformity

While lab tests and imaging can sometimes help diagnose juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), a physical examination and thorough patient history are the most valuable tools in identifying this disease. According to a new literature review from the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), the rate of false positives in laboratory evaluations and imaging studies meant to screen for juvenile arthritis makes their value limited.

3 Mar 2011

FADD protein discovery can lead to better cancer and autoimmune disease drugs

Reporting in Nature, scientists from Thomas Jefferson University have determined that a single protein called FADD controls multiple cell death pathways, a discovery that could lead to better, more targeted autoimmune disease and cancer drugs.

3 Mar 2011

New PSA campaign to raise awareness about autoimmune diseases

The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association Inc. has unveiled a multi-media public service/awareness campaign titled "We are 50 Million" to herald March 2011 as National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month.

2 Mar 2011

Millennium, Seattle commence brentuximab vedotin phase I trial in patients with ALCL

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced that they have initiated a phase I clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma patients.

1 Mar 2011

Leptin receptor antagonist peptide demonstrates efficacy against triple negative breast cancer

A new peptide developed by researchers in Temple University's College of Science and Technology has demonstrated efficacy against triple negative breast cancer.

1 Mar 2011

Seattle Genetics submits brentuximab vedotin BLA to FDA for treatment of ALCL, Hodgkin lymphoma

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the use of brentuximab vedotin in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

28 Feb 2011

New guidelines recommend routine use of allergy tests to improve quality of care in children

The first guidelines for food allergy in children and young people issued by NICE, National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence, recommend routine use of allergy tests in NHS primary care and community settings to confirm suspected food allergy.

24 Feb 2011

Autoimmune Disease News and Research

Further Reading

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

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

Idera reports $6.0 million net loss for fourth quarter 2010

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

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

Human Genome Sciences receives FDA approval for Benlysta to treat lupus

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

LRI announces 12 new research grants to drive innovation in lupus

$100 million in grants for medical research announced

New Lupus drug marching towards approval

Scientists identify regulatory T cells responsible for limiting immune response

Members of Congress receive messages from lupus advocates during Lupus Advocacy Day

Pfizer's ORAL Sync Phase 3 study of tofacitinib in moderate-to-severe RA meets primary endpoints

Early diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis critical to avoid disability, deformity

FADD protein discovery can lead to better cancer and autoimmune disease drugs

New PSA campaign to raise awareness about autoimmune diseases

Millennium, Seattle commence brentuximab vedotin phase I trial in patients with ALCL

Leptin receptor antagonist peptide demonstrates efficacy against triple negative breast cancer

Seattle Genetics submits brentuximab vedotin BLA to FDA for treatment of ALCL, Hodgkin lymphoma

New guidelines recommend routine use of allergy tests to improve quality of care in children

eBook: Integrated solutions for autoimmune disease drug development eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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