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The evolution of drug discovery in systemic lupus erythematosus

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 11, pages 616–620 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Drug discovery in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has lagged behind other rheumatic diseases, in large part because of difficulty in measuring change or improvement in a disorder that involves multiple organ systems to varying degrees at different times. The metrics currently used as primary endpoints are composite indices that rely mainly on disease assessment measures derived before the era of clinical trials of targeted therapies. Only one agent has been approved for the treatment of SLE since 1957. This monograph reviews the evolution of drug development for SLE, problems and pitfalls that have been encountered, and outlines the domains used to evaluate SLE in the clinic. Finally, several initiatives underway to improve clinical trial design are outlined.

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Figure 1: A timeline summarizing drug development for SLE.
Figure 2: New approaches to be considered for drug development in SLE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology, Cedars–Sinai Medical Center, 8737 Beverly Boulevard, Suite 302, West Hollywood, 90048, CA, USA

    Daniel J. Wallace

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  1. Daniel J. Wallace
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Correspondence to Daniel J. Wallace.

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The author has acted as a consultant for GSK, Merck Serono and UCB.

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Wallace, D. The evolution of drug discovery in systemic lupus erythematosus. Nat Rev Rheumatol 11, 616–620 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2015.86

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