Interferon

Iberdomide, a novel oral cereblon modulator, was superior to a placebo only in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who received the highest dose in a phase 2 trial, albeit with a high incidence of adverse events, according to data.

Combining the immunomodulator interferon beta-1a with remdesivir did not improve treatment among hospitalized adults with COVID-19 compared with remdesivir alone, data from a clinical trial showed.

The presence of mature red blood cells that still contain mitochondria is associated with higher systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity, according to data published in Cell.

Clinicians have an increasing number of options to treat patients with all stages of COVID-19 infection, from pauci-symptomatic early infection to those with long hauler syndromes, noted a speaker at the 2021 Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conference.

Increased interleukin‐1Ra and IL‐8 serum levels, and other biomarker profiles, “clearly separate” COVID-19 from macrophage activation syndrome and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

After decades of research advances and reverses, blocking the interferon receptor in lupus may finally be showing consistent clinical benefit, according to a presentation at the United Rheumatology Spring Virtual conference.

The possible FDA approval of a drug targeting the interferon pathway in lupus is the culmination of decades of work by clinicians and researchers alike. Yet, given the bewildering complexity of both interferon and lupus, this moment is likely only the midpoint of a much longer narrative.

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who received inhaled nebulized interferon beta-1a were twice as likely to improve and recover than those who received placebo, according to data published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Imagine my surprise when I opened Science last month and was reminded that “Sting” is no longer the sole province of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE — songwriter, singer and bass player extraordinaire, who helped take The Police to fame and fortune with such standards as “Roxanne” and “Walking on the Moon” back in the 20th century.

Inhaled interferon beta lowered the risk for developing severe infection and improved the likelihood of recovery from COVID-19 compared with placebo, according to early data released by Synairgen.