News

Non-invasive test may be useful to monitor blood flow complications

A non-invasive technique called flow-mediated dilation (FMD) could be useful for monitoring blood vessel alterations in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and predicting the likelihood of certain blood flow (vascular) complications, a study has found. The test findings show distinct differences between SSc patients and healthy people, and were…

FDA puts cell therapy CABA-201 on fast track for scleroderma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation to the cell therapy CABA-201 for organ dysfunction in people with scleroderma. The agency also granted CABA-201 fast track status to reduce disease activity in people with dermatomyositis, another rare disorder that’s marked by muscle weakness and…

SSc associated with worse outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are more likely to have worse outcomes if they also have systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study finds. This risk was assessed by a composite score that combined several clinical measures, including in-hospital mortality, invasive mechanical ventilation to help with breathing, use of medications to raise…

FT011 showed promising effects on disability, lung function in trial

Treatment with FT011 led to clinically meaningful improvements in physical disability and lung function for some scleroderma patients given the experimental therapy in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Christopher Denton, MD, a professor at University College London, shared the results at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2023…

1st patient dosed in Phase 2 trial of efzofitimod for SSc-ILD

Dosing has begun in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating aTyr Pharma’s efzofitimod, a first-in-class therapy for people with interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc) — together known as SSc-ILD. Recruitment for the proof-of-concept EFZO-CONNECT study (NCT05892614), which aims to enroll up to 25…