Lupus News and Research

Latest Lupus News and Research

Idera announces IMO-3100 Phase 1 clinical trial results for autoimmune disease

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced results from its single-dose, dose-escalation Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and mechanism of action of IMO-3100, its lead Toll-like Receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR9 antagonist drug candidate for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

22 Oct 2010

Female sex hormones help women survive after trauma

Women who have been severely injured are 14 percent more likely to survive than similarly injured men, according to a new Johns Hopkins study, a difference researchers believe may be due to the negative impact of male sex hormones on a traumatized immune system.

21 Oct 2010

LRI releases results from scientific research impact report on lupus

Today, the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) released results from the organization's first scientific research impact report entitled, A Decade of Impact in Lupus Research Driving Discovery through Innovation. The results from the report demonstrate a significant impact in lupus research, which has seen no new treatment options approved in 50 years.

19 Oct 2010

DOD awards grant to develop ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device for monitoring patients with severe brain injury

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $5 million grant to The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and the University of Cincinnati to further develop a "lab-on-a-chip" device used for monitoring patients suffering from severe brain injury.

19 Oct 2010

Discovery of 4 new DNA 'hotspots' may aid in developing new therapies for psoriasis

Scientists at the University of Michigan Heath System and their collaborators have found four new DNA "hotspots" that may one day help guide new treatments for psoriasis, one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the country.

19 Oct 2010

UCB presents P3, P4 clinical trial data for Crohn's disease at ACG Scientific Meeting

Findings from the PRECiSE 3 (P3) open label extension study for Cimzia, demonstrating the longest continuously running maintenance trial for an anti-TNF in Crohn's disease, will be exhibited at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), taking place in San Antonio from October 15 – 20. Additionally, long-term efficacy data from the PRECiSE 4 (P4) clinical trial also will be presented at the meeting.

19 Oct 2010

Discovery may aid in developing new psoriasis therapies

Scientists at the University of Michigan Heath System and their collaborators have found four new DNA “hotspots” that may one day help guide new treatments for psoriasis, one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the country.

18 Oct 2010

ACG meeting to exhibit Cimzia data for Crohn's disease treatment

Studies and analyses of the Crohn's disease (CD) treatment Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) will be exhibited at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, taking place in San Antonio from October 15 – 20.

18 Oct 2010

Neuroprotective properties of laquinimod for RRMS presented at 26th ECTRIMS Congress

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced today that data providing further evidence of the neuroprotective properties of laquinimod in animal studies were presented at the 26th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Gothenburg, Sweden.

15 Oct 2010

Questcor's H.P. Acthar Gel sNDA for infantile spasms receives FDA approval

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Questcor's supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection) in the treatment of infantile spasms (IS), an ultra-rare orphan disorder affecting approximately 2,000 American children annually. IS is a devastating and potentially life-threatening form of epilepsy seen in infancy and early childhood.

15 Oct 2010

LFA announces award of new grants for lupus research

The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA) today announced the awarding of six new research grants to address gaps in the science and understanding of key areas of lupus research, including pediatric lupus, reproductive health issues in people with lupus, lupus nephritis (kidney involvement), and neuropsychiatric lupus, which affects the brain and nervous system.

14 Oct 2010

NIH awards La Jolla Institute $12.6M to develop San Diego's first Center for RNAi screening

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology will develop San Diego's first Center for RNAi screening -- a breakthrough genomics technology that will further enhance San Diego's reputation as a national research leader and provide the local biomedical community ready access to the Nobel-Prize winning technology.

11 Oct 2010

Myrexis to present MPI-0485520 preclinical data at Annual Scientific Meeting

Myrexis, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for cancer, today announced it will present a poster at the 74th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP), to be held November 7-11, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.

7 Oct 2010

New report focuses on management of renal anemia amongst dialysis, later stage CKD patients

BioTrends Research Group, Inc. recently published its TreatmentTrends: Renal Anemia in China report. This report is based on survey results from 150 nephrologists in clinical practice in China and qualitative interviews conducted with ten thought leaders in nephrology. The report examines the demographics of nephrology practice in China and focuses specifically on the management of renal anemia amongst dialysis and later stage chronic kidney disease patients.

7 Oct 2010

Researchers identify new type of cell that protects from immune system attack

Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston have identified a new type of cell in mice that dampens the immune system and protects the animal's own cells from immune system attack.

5 Oct 2010

NIEHS awards grant to study environmental impact on genetic information

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has awarded $2.27 million to Indiana University researcher Joseph Shaw for a five-year study of how the environment alters genetic information through mutation and natural selection.

5 Oct 2010

Merck's boceprevir Phase III studies for HCV to be presented at 61st AASLD

Merck today announced that final results from two pivotal Phase III studies of boceprevir, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, will be presented in oral plenary sessions at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), which is taking place from Oct. 29 through Nov. 2 in Boston. Results for boceprevir in response-guided therapy strategies, which evaluated treatment durations shorter than current standard therapy, will be presented during the meeting.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers discover new diagnostic test for prostate cancer

Researchers in England say they have discovered a set of biomarkers that can distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostate disease and healthy tissue with 90 percent accuracy.

From Oxford Gene Technology 29 Sep 2010

Further trials needed to determine clinical application of Abatacept in SLE

Results from a 12-month multi-center clinical trial did not show therapeutic benefit of abatacept over placebo in patients with non-life threatening systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Abatacept failed to prevent new disease flares in SLE patients tapered from corticosteroids in an analysis where mild, moderate and severe disease flares were evaluated together. Full details of the phase IIb clinical trial are published in the October issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

29 Sep 2010

Anthera Pharmaceuticals closes financing transaction

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with certain accredited investors in connection with a private placement, or PIPE, financing transaction pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

23 Sep 2010