Lupus can be Managed With Anifrolumab

Most people with lupus, an inflammatory disease, have high levels of type I interferon (IFN), a potent immune activator. The first placebo-controlled long-term trial of anifrolumab, a human monoclonal antibody that targets the type I IFN receptor in lupus patients, has produced encouraging results, according to research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Anifrolumab to Manage Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Patients received anifrolumab 300 mg, switched from anifrolumab 150 mg to 300 mg, or were re-randomized from placebo to either anifrolumab 300 mg or continued placebo, administered every four weeks, in the long-term extension trial of two earlier phase 3 trials. All patients also received standard therapy. An intravenous infusion of anifrolumab was given.

A satisfactory long-term safety profile was achieved with treatment with anifrolumab, which also sustained a decline in lupus disease activity and reduced or eliminated the need for steroid medicines.

Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

“Managing systemic lupus erythematosus is challenging, due to the complexity of the disease itself, as well as from treatments like oral corticosteroids that can reduce disease activity, but also place a significant burden on patients when used in high doses long-term,” said the corresponding author Hussein Al-Mossawi, M.D., PhD, of AstraZeneca. “These new data from the TULIP extension trial- the longest placebo-controlled clinical trial performed in lupus to date- support the benefit-risk profile of anifrolumab seen in previous trials, now over four years.”

Source-Medindia