Long Term Effectiveness of Anifrolumab in Managing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
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Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
Translated by Nhi Phuong Quynh Le, B.A |
Posted on January 7th, 2026
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Previous study had found that the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor is essential for the migration and function of immune cells. There had been successful attempts in regulating this target to manage autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis. With funding from Amgen, a study was conducted to explore the usage of cenerimod to treat systemic lupus erythematosus.
The phase 2 clinical study included 427 participants with an average age of approximately 41 years old who had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. 80% of them were treated with glucocorticoids, with half of them use a daily dose of more than 7.5 mg - exact number is not published in the original article. Baseline assessment with the SLEDAI-2K scale, which had been modified to exclude leukopenia, yields a mean score of 10.
The patients were randomly assigned to be treated with either placebo or cenerimod at different daily doses of 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, or 4 mg. After 6 months of treatment, the researchers found that clinical improvement, as measured by the mSLEDAI-2K index, was observed in patients treated with placebo and cenerimod; however, there was no significant difference between the groups. The researchers noted further subgroup analysis had found cenerimod to be effective in patients with high interferon-1 gene expression.
The phase 2 clinical study included 427 participants with an average age of approximately 41 years old who had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. 80% of them were treated with glucocorticoids, with half of them use a daily dose of more than 7.5 mg - exact number is not published in the original article. Baseline assessment with the SLEDAI-2K scale, which had been modified to exclude leukopenia, yields a mean score of 10.
The patients were randomly assigned to be treated with either placebo or cenerimod at different daily doses of 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 2 mg, or 4 mg. After 6 months of treatment, the researchers found that clinical improvement, as measured by the mSLEDAI-2K index, was observed in patients treated with placebo and cenerimod; however, there was no significant difference between the groups. The researchers noted further subgroup analysis had found cenerimod to be effective in patients with high interferon-1 gene expression.