In late July 2022, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved belimumab (Benlysta) for the treatment of children with active lupus nephritis aged 5 to 17 years old receiving standard therapy.1 Despite recent advances in treatment options for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), those with kidney involvement may develop endstage renal disease and…
Materne et al. aimed to compare the risk of infection among patients with non-renal SLE using the injectable immunosuppressant belimumab vs. an oral immunosuppressant, azathioprine, mycophenolate or methotrexate.
Belimumab is now FDA approved to treat children aged 5 years and older with active lupus nephritis, providing treatment options for pediatric patients at risk of developing renal damage.
ACR Convergence 2021—The Great Debate at the meeting sparked a thoughtful discussion on the future of lupus nephritis treatment strategies, with experts saying clinicians should be open to new ways of approaching patient care. In the past year, approvals of the monoclonal antibody belimumab and the calcineurin inhibitor voclosporin for use in lupus nephritis (when…
In December, the FDA approved belimumab, the first drug approved to treat lupus nephritis, an historic action that was rapidly followed in January by the approval of a second treatment for lupus nephritis, voclosporin.
(Reuters Health)—Intravenous belimumab combined with standard lupus therapy can help preserve kidney function in patients with active lupus nephritis and cut the odds of death or a renal-related event by half, a phase 3 multinational study has concluded.1 After two years of therapy, 43% of 224 volunteers getting the drug monthly showed a renal response…
In an international clinical trial, adding the drug belimumab to standard maintenance therapy for patients in remission with vasculitis did not lower the relapse rate. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the safety and efficacy of belimumab as adjunctive therapy to maintain remission in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV). Results of the multi-center, industry-sponsored…
Results from a Phase 3 study showed ixekizumab significantly improved the signs and symptoms of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis in patients…
In a long-term extension study, belimumab proved safe, demonstrating low organ damage accrual in SLE patients treated for up to nine years…
A yearlong pilot study that evaluated the safety and efficacy of belimumab in a small group of patients with early diffuse systemic sclerosis found no significant difference in the number of adverse events between those treated with the drug and those who received a placebo. Currently, no drugs are approved specifically for the treatment of…