Alice Melão, MSc,  —

Fibrocell Science‘s gene therapy candidate FCX-013 received fast track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for moderate-to-severe localized scleroderma, which usually does not affect internal organs. The FDA’s latest move adds to its previously granted orphan drug and rare pediatric…

High-frequency ultrasound (HFU) of the skin can help evaluate the progression and define disease activity in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), researchers suggest. This noninvasive method was seen to have the potential to effectively and quantitatively measure skin thickness, representing an attractive strategy to objectively assess skin changes in patients…

Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals’ lead cannabinoid-derived treatment candidate, EHP-101, has shown potential to prevent skin and lung tissue scaring in a mouse model of systemic sclerosis, the company reports. Emerald also claims that EHP-101’s therapeutic activity is similar or superior to that seen in ajulemic acid, also known as…

Treatment with Corbus Pharmaceuticals’ investigative therapy lenabasum (formerly known as anabasum) significantly improves the symptoms of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in a Phase 2 open-label extension study. The latest results from the trial were recently discussed at the 2018 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) held in Amsterdam,…

Approximately 85 percent of Canadians with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) now have access to Actelion’s therapy Uptravi (selexipag) through the country’s publicly funded prescription system. This action follows the conclusion of negotiations about the drug’s price by the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) —…

Lenabasum, an investigational treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis by Corbus Pharmaceuticals, was shown to be safe, well-tolerated and of benefit to patients treated for one year in a long-term extension of a Phase 2 trial. Latest results of the JBT101-SSc-001 study (NCT02465437) will be discussed at the European…

Early diagnosis and prompt treatment was found to be critical in achieving better long-term outcomes for children with juvenile localized scleroderma, a study reports. The retrospective study, titled “Disease course and long-term outcome of juvenile localized scleroderma: Experience from a single pediatric rheumatology Centre and literature…

Increased levels of two proteins produced during acute inflammation can help predict pulmonary involvement in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis, a study shows. Patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis who also have developed lung disease were found to have significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A…

iBio has selected a lead scleroderma treatment candidate — a molecule it calls the E4-Fc fusion protein. The company plans to continue developing it, with a goal of moving it in clinical trials in people. It also hopes to treat fibrotic diseases besides scleroderma with the molecule, which is…

Boehringer Ingelheim and the Scleroderma  Foundation have started a global initiative to raise awareness of scleroderma and support those with the life-threatening disease. In conjunction with the initiative, which is dubbed More Than Scleroderma: The Inside Story, they created a website that will feature the latest scientific knowledge and news on…