Research Partners

Collaboration is one of the cornerstones of the Lupus Research Alliance’s research philosophy. We strive to identify and engage partners across disciplines and sectors to accelerate foundational and translational research in lupus. We welcome new partnering opportunities. Please contact Teodora Staeva, Ph.D. (tstaeva@lupusresearch.org)

Industry

Lupus Industry Council (LIC)

The Lupus Research Alliance Lupus Industry Council (LIC) includes 18 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies working together in the pre-competitive space to address common impediments to drug development in lupus and accelerate the pace of bringing new lupus therapies to the market. New members are welcome; contact Hoang Nguyen, Ph.D. (hnguyen@lupusresearch.org).

The following companies are currently members of the LIC:

Current Projects:

Drivers of Response for SRI-4 and BICLA in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Clinical Trials

The paucity of success in late-stage clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains a persistent and challenging problem with one of the key issues being the primary endpoints, SRI-4 and BILAG. These do not always provide similar answers within a trial. There are recent examples from late-stage studies where the SRI-4 and BICLA endpoints provided very different answers, with one arguing the intervention was efficacious and the other suggesting the intervention was ineffective.

There is relatively poor understanding of the factors that drive response for SRI-4 and BICLA. Each of these composite endpoints require more than 120 determinations, and there is incomplete understanding of which measurements contribute to the efficacy signal and which contribute to the noise.

To address this problem with SLE trial endpoints, the Lupus Research Alliance LIC established a Working Group with two key goals: (1) Create a better understanding of the factors that drive response and nonresponse for SRI-4 and BICLA, and (2) determine the concordance and discordance between SRI-4 and BICLA at the individual patient level. A common analysis plan was developed providing descriptions of summaries and figures for the analyses, which will be conducted independently by each company. The analyses are limited to placebo-treated patients in this initial iteration to encourage participation, collaboration and shared learning.

It is anticipated that this collaborative effort will result in a much better understanding of the fundamentals underlying SRI-4 and BICLA that will translate into better and more successful clinical trials in SLE.

Former Projects:

Thus far, the LIC has completed three projects. Click here for more information.

Lupus Research Alliance-Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) Partnership

The Lupus Research Alliance-Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) partnership was enabled by a generous $3 million gift from BMS. This collaboration supports 10 innovative projects through a dedicated grant mechanism, the Accelerator Award. These projects focus on understanding the underlying causes of systemic and cutaneous lupus, exploring human lupus heterogeneity and identifying novel biomarkers. The research is conducted in close collaboration with a Lupus Research Alliance-BMS Joint Steering Committee comprised of BMS scientists and Lupus Research Alliance-appointed external experts.

Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI)

In 2012, the Lupus Research Alliance became Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation’s (CTI’s) first foundation partner. Since then, the initiative has supported nearly a dozen studies advancing pre-clinical and early stage clinical drug candidates for the treatment of SLE.

Nonprofits

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies has been a key partner to the Lupus Research Alliance for more than 10 years and generously has supported the mission of the Lupus Research Alliance. Initially focused on fundamental research and innovation, the partnership brought a diverse group of leading scientists into lupus research and yielded significant findings and new targets for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The most recent iteration of the partnership launched the Lupus Research Alliance’s largest and most collaborative grant mechanism, the Global Team Science Award.

JDRF—Lupus Research Alliance—National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Partnership on Common Mechanisms of Autoimmunity

JDRF, the Lupus Research Alliance and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) have joined forces to identify common mechanisms of autoimmunity. This is the first time these three leading autoimmune disease organizations are jointly funding research projects looking at common underlying disease mechanisms. Visit the initiative’s website: https://decodingautoimmunity.org/

Government

Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)/Lupus

The Lupus Research Alliance is a partner in the Accelerating Medicines Partnership Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)/Lupus, which brings together the National Institutes of Health (NIH), industry and nonprofit organizations to identify new therapeutic pathways and targets in RA and lupus nephritis (LN). The project is generating groundbreaking results with potential to transform clinical care for LN.

Click here to learn more.

Academia

Lupus Research Alliance Lupus Brain Bank: Lupus Research Alliance—Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC)—International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine (IIAM) collaboration

The Lupus Research Alliance has partnered with the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC), one of six National Institutes of Health (NIH) NeuroBioBanks, and the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine (IIAM) to establish the Lupus Research Alliance Lupus Brain Bank.

The generous gift of lupus patient donors and their families enables critical research on the neuropsychiatric manifestations of lupus.

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