Sifalimumab May Be Useful in Refractory to Therapy Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Sifalimumab is a human monoclonal antibody designed for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), dermatomyositis, and polymyositis. It targets interferon-alfa. It is currently being evaluated for SLE treatment in clinical trials Phase IIB. Are the results looking promising?
The answer is partially given by a new study focusing on Sifalimumab:
Dysregulation of the type I interferon (IFN) system is associated with various immunologic diseases. Targeting this dysregulation presents an attractive approach for SLE therapy.
Sifalimumab, a fully human immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody that binds to and neutralizes most IFN-α subtypes, has been recently evaluated in a Phase IIb study in patients with moderate to severe SLE. Insights gained from earlier studies were used to inform design of the Phase IIb study, to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of sifalimumab.
According to the study sifalimumab demonstrated broad efficacy across composite and organ-specific end points, suggesting that targeting of IFN-α is a promising treatment option for SLE, particularly for those patients whose disease is refractory to current standard of care.
Why is this important?
Conventional immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory therapy, such as glucocorticoids, cyclophosphamide, and mycophenolate mofetil, can control disease in most patients, but not all of them. Sifalimumab presents a new opportunity in refractory SLE.
Reference
Targeting the interferon pathway with sifalimumab for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, Warren Greth, Gabriel J Robbie, Philip Brohawn, Micki Hultquist, and Bing Yao, Immunotherapy 2017 9:1, 57-70
Tags: lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus, biologics, drugs