News

Switching to Adempas (riociguat) is a potential therapeutic option for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who failed to improve when treated with phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors such as Adcirca (tadalafil), a case series study reported.

The prevalence of autoantibodies, particularly Anti-Topo I, anti-CENP, and anti-RNA pol III, in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) can aid in predicting disease outcome, Greek researchers have found. Their study, “Disease-related autoantibody profile in patients with systemic sclerosis,” appeared in the journal Autoimmunity. SSc is characterized…

A recent study showed that the classification of patients with pre-scleroderma into “very early systemic sclerosis” (SSc or scleroderma) and “early SSc” groups — based on the existence of subclinical organ involvement — can help improve disease monitoring and care, and better predict patients’ outcomes. The study also showed that patients in the…

Corbus Pharmaceuticals says a Phase 3 clinical trial of anabasum for diffuse cutaneous scleroderma will start in the fourth quarter of 2017, putting the treatment a step closer toward regulatory approval after a Phase 2 trial that improved patients’ disease. According to the company’s second-quarter financial report,…

Genentech has completed patient enrollment in a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Actemra (tocilizumab) as a treatment for scleroderma patients. It has now enrolled 211 patients worldwide for a trial that will be conducted at 106 sites. The focuSSced study (NCT02453256) will be assessing the effectiveness and…

Researchers found that scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), a severe complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), is associated with high mortality in Thai patients. The study also shows that the major risk factors for SRC include heart involvement, ongoing treatment with high dosages of the steroid medication prednisolone, low blood albumin levels, and digital gangrene. The…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) to treat adult patients with chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD) who failed prior therapy, such as corticosteroids. Stem cell transplants have been a standard of care for patients with blood disorders like leukemia and myeloma. Pre-clinical and early clinical studies suggest…

Skin levels of aquaporin 3 (AQP3), a protein which promotes skin hydration and wound healing, are reduced in the cells of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a new study. The study, “Downregulation of Aquaporin3 in Systemic Sclerosis Dermal Fibroblasts,” appeared in the…

Systemic sclerosis patients with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) have a great deal of symptoms and comorbidities (other diseases), with a high impact on their overall biological and physical stability, or frailty. The study, “Severity and features of frailty in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease,” was published in the journal Respiratory…

Inventiva’s lead therapy candidate IVA337 for the treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc) was shown to prevent the progression of lung fibrosis and the remodeling of blood vessels in preclinical animal models of lung fibrosis and systemic sclerosis. These findings will be the…