Lupus Research Alliance Announces Published Data Showing Effective Approach to Drug Repositioning

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New results published today in the professional journal Lupus demonstrate the effectiveness of an innovative system developed to identify promising treatments for lupus among existing drugs approved for use in other diseases. Funded by the Lupus Research Alliance and the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation, the study used Big Data to confirm selection of potential treatments identified by analyzing data on over 1,000 drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and eliciting broad feedback via internet crowd-sourcing.

The LRxL-STAT (Lupus Treatment List-SLE Treatment Acceleration Trials) was initiated by the Lupus Research Alliance) with Drs. Peter Lipsky and Amrie Grammer of AMPEL BioSolutions to address the urgent need for safer, more effective lupus treatments.

A comprehensive search of published papers and internet feedback from the professional lupus community and lupus patients identified over 150 FDA-approved drugs that might be effective for lupus. Drs. Lipsky and Grammer then developed a unique evaluation system, Combined Lupus Treatment Scoring (CoLT) to prioritize those most promising. Drugs previously approved for diseases as diverse as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer made the top priority list. 

Parallel efforts supported by the John and Marcia Goldman Foundation resulted in the development of a novel data analysis tool that identified many of the same drug candidates rated highly by the CoLT system.

"Our study shows the benefit of using multiple methods to accurately pinpoint potentially effective treatments for lupus among existing drugs," said Dr. Lipsky. "Since these drugs have already been extensively tested for other diseases, studies to test their effectiveness in lupus are far less risky and can be completed much more quickly than trials of investigational compounds."

"Repurposing already-approved drugs holds tremendous benefit for people with lupus," said Kenneth M. Farber, Co-CEO of Lupus Research Alliance. "In tandem with LRxL-STAT, we created the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) with the ability to conduct small trials that test lupus drug candidates quickly. The end result – people with lupus can be treated with safer and more effective drugs far faster."

About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. More than 90% of people with lupus are women, mostly young women between the ages of 15 to 44. Women of color are especially at risk.

About the Lupus Research Alliance
Born from the merger of three organizations, the Lupus Research Alliance is the world's leading catalyst driving scientific discovery to prevent, treat and cure lupus. Combining the Alliance for Lupus Research, the Lupus Research Institute and the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, the Lupus Research Alliance is a strong new champion for the lupus community. Because the Board of Directors covers all Lupus Research Alliance administrative and operating costs, 100% of all donations go directly to support research programs to help us all realize our vision of a world free of lupus.

More information can be found at www.lupusresearch.org, the website of the former Alliance for Lupus Research and LupusResearchInstitute.org, the website of the former Lupus Research Institute.

SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance