What the trial was testing
The TULIP-2 enrolled 373 patients with lupus. The study was sponsored by AstraZeneca and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
Anifrolumab helped 48% of patients achieve meaningful lupus improvement after one year.
The New England journal of medicine · 2020 · NCT02446899
These findings — that nearly half of patients had meaningful disease improvement versus 32% on dummy treatment — were published in the The New England journal of medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 373 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with lupus, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Anifrolumab is FDA-approved for adults with moderate to severe lupus who haven't responded well enough to standard treatments. It's given as a monthly IV infusion. Talk to your rheumatologist about whether this medicine might be right for you, especially if your current treatment isn't controlling your symptoms well enough.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open lupus trials
Allogeneic UCB-derived CAR-T for SLE
The purpose of this clinical trial is to learn if allogeneic, umbilical cord blood-derived chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (UCAR-T) targeting CD19 and BCMA works to treat refractory SLE in adults. It will also learn about the safety and efficacy of the UCAR-T cell product.
A Research Trial to Assess if Cenerimod is Efficacious and Safe to Treat Active Lupus Nephritis on Top of Regular Treatment
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if cenerimod, on top of regular treatment, works to treat active lupus nephritis in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus and active lupus nephritis. It will also learn about the safety of cenerimod. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does cenerimod improve kidney function in participants? * What medical problems do participants have when taking cenerimod? Researchers will compare cenerimod to a placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no drug) to see how well cenerimod works when it is added to regular treatment. Participants will: * Take cenerimod or a placebo every day for 76 weeks (approximately 1.5 years), on top of regular treatment. * Visit the clinic every 1 to 3 months for checkups and tests.