Lupus News and Research

Latest Lupus News and Research

Questcor announces launch of H.P. Acthar Gel for infantile spasms

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the commercial launch is now underway for H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection) as monotherapy for the treatment of Infantile Spasms (IS) in infants and children under the age of two years. This new Acthar indication was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 15, 2010.

3 Nov 2010

APS summit focuses on Antiphospholipid Syndrome research

Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) is a condition that may be responsible for up to one-third of strokes in people under age 50, up to one-fifth of all cases of blood clots in large veins, and one-quarter of recurrent miscarriages. Nonetheless, relatively few randomized clinical trials have been conducted involving people with APS, and those completed have included small numbers of participants.

3 Nov 2010

Eye transformer impacts JAK/STAT-signaling pathway response with microbial challenge

Scientists are keeping their eye on a new discovery published in the November 2011 print issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) that explains what causes some genes to go out of control. Scientists have identified a "cellular switch," called eye transformer, that controls the flow of information from chemical signals outside of the cell to genes in the cell nucleus.

2 Nov 2010

LRI's innovative discovery to predict lupus receives license for clinical laboratory development

A discovery made by Lupus Research Institute-funded investigator Emily Baechler Gillespie, PhD, at the University of Minnesota has been licensed to a major clinical laboratory for development and could soon result in a test that quickly and easily enables patients and their physicians to determine when a lupus flare is imminent.

29 Oct 2010

Research on sheep population could help explain variation in vaccine protection

Strong immunity may play a key role in determining long life, but may do so at the expense of reduced fertility, a Princeton University study has concluded.

29 Oct 2010

Celgene third quarter non-GAAP total revenue increases 31% to $908 million

Celgene Corporation announced non-GAAP net income of $349.9 million, or non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.75 for the quarter ended September 30, 2010.

28 Oct 2010

New nationwide initiative to conduct research on human immune system

A new nationwide research initiative has been launched to define changes in the human immune system's response to infection and vaccination using human rather than animal models, which could lead to better vaccines and other treatments. Baylor Research Institute (BRI), along with five other U.S.-based Human Immune Phenotyping Centers, will receive a total of $100 million over five years to conduct the research.

28 Oct 2010

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