Daratumumab in systemic lupus erythematosus: a single-arm phase 2 trial, 2026, Ostendorf et al

[Jonathan Edwards]

My take: Lupus is an SLPC disease. Not so much LLPC. So therefore if it is SLPC Dara would work?

Worth reading Maria Leandro's initial studies from around 2005. Both short and long lived cells are involved, depending on which antibodies you look at. The LLPC almost certainly feed back and contribute to SLPC-mediated relapse too so it is a complex set up.

 

[OrganicChilli]

Yes, in the UK these tend to be third or fourth-line therapies. They use safer drugs where possible because some people need treatment on and off for life.

Is that due to safety or due to cost? I don't think dara is particularly dangerous.

 

[Kitty]

Is that due to safety or due to cost?

I don't know. I guess it's safety—with newer drugs we may not know the risks of repeatedly using them over decades—but cost/benefit is bound to come into it too.

Prescribing guidelines tend to be conservative generally, and in any case some less severely affected patients may respond well to first-line treatments. I've been on one for 13 years now, and the effect on the disease is probably as good as I'd have got from a more aggressive one.