Epratuzumab for systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune multiorgan disease in which the lack of an appropriate therapy can lead to rapid organ failure and death. Immunosuppressive therapies such as corticosteroids or cyclophosphamide can slow down the disease progression but sometimes other therapies are needed. Among such therapies, epratuzumab, an antiCD22 antibody, can be potentially efficacious in this disease.

Areas covered: Discussion of the results from clinical studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of epratuzumab in patients with moderate or severe systemic lupus erythematosus.

Expert opinion: The study demonstrates that epratuzumab can improve the quality of life and can reduce the disease activity burden, but the premature termination of the studies might have limited the generation of further efficacy data.

Keywords::

• BILAG scores
• epratuzumab
• lupus
• quality of life