May 1, 2021

“This is a historic moment in lupus with two new drug approvals for lupus nephritis just over a month,” enthused Kenneth M. Farber, LRA President and CEO.

The LRA is excited to share that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of voclosporin (Lupkynis™) as the first oral treatment specifically for adults with active lupus nephritis in combination with standard care. Voclosporin followed the recent approval of belimumab (Benlysta®) by the FDA as new treatments for lupus nephritis in December of 2020.

Recognizing the persistent gap in lupus nephritis care, the LRA has devoted considerable resources to studying ways to better diagnose, monitor, and manage this most common complication of lupus. Among the more than 40 funded research grants focused specifically on lupus nephritis, many have laid the groundwork for critical advances in development of new drugs like these.

The LRA applauds Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on their success in developing new treatments for lupus nephritis.