Monash welcomes renewed support from Janssen for vital lupus research

A global research effort to improve outcomes for patients with lupus has been accelerated with a major new funding commitment from Janssen Pharmaceutica (Janssen).

The vital research being carried out by Professor Eric Morand, Head of School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University, and a multinational team of collaborators, will progress into critical stages with ongoing commitment from Janssen to fund the study until 2021.

In the Monash-led study by the Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration (APLC) the investigators devised a new way to measure responses to treatment in lupus, which is now being taken up worldwide as a new standard for clinical trials and research.

At the annual Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration meeting held in Brisbane on 12 April,2019, Professor Morand, founder of the Monash Lupus Clinic, said Janssen’s renewed commitment of the APLC’s ongoing research, among other major global supporters, will allow the team to extend follow up of this important cohort through to 2021.

“Janssen USA was among the earliest supporters of the APLC, recognising the unique opportunity to transform clinical measurement in lupus and improve the reliability of clinical trials of new therapies,” Professor Morand said.

“We thank Janssen for their important contribution – this international cohort study would not be possible with this funding.”

Beginning in 2013 and supported by generous collaborative funding, the APLC curated the study - one of the world’s largest ever prospective cohort studies in lupus, with over 2,000 patients under study in more than 15 regional expert centres.

The APLC thanks all of its partners for their commitment and support – Janssen, UCB Biopharma SPRL, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca.

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