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Systemic lupus erythematosus clinical trials—an interim analysis

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 5, pages 348–351 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Since the current standards for drug approval were established nearly half a century ago, no drug has been approved for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Despite this sobering history, interest in drug development for SLE has heightened in the past few years. This enthusiasm has been fueled in large part by the success of biologic therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Unfortunately, despite considerable clinical trial activity, this interest has not yet translated into the discovery of an effective treatment for SLE. This article provides an analysis of the major clinical trials in SLE, and offers an interpretation of the results that could illuminate the path forward.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Rosalind Russell Medical Research Center for Arthritis at the University of California, San Francisco.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Maria Dall'Era & David Wofsy

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  1. Maria Dall'Era
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Correspondence to David Wofsy.

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Competing interests

D. Wofsy has acted as a consultant for Aspreva, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Merck-Serono and ZymoGenetics. M. Dall'Era has acted as a consultant for Genentech, Merck-Serono and ZymoGenetics.

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Dall'Era, M., Wofsy, D. Systemic lupus erythematosus clinical trials—an interim analysis. Nat Rev Rheumatol 5, 348–351 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2009.79

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