News

Infliximab Better for Steroid Tapering in Cardiac Sarcoidosis

Infliximab — marketed as Remicade and biosimilars — had steroid-sparing effects superior to methotrexate in the treatment of cardiac sarcoidosis, a small study found. The success rate of a tapering course of corticosteroids was significantly better when infliximab was added to the regimen than when the steroid was used…

Xentria Raises $25M to Boost Development of XTMAB-16

Xentria has raised $25 million in funding to further the development of XTMAB-16, its experimental antibody therapy for sarcoidosis. The funding will allow for the launch of a global clinical trial of XTMAB-16 in sarcoidosis patients, planned to start early next year. “I am excited about this…

Sarcoidosis Prevalence Found to Be Higher on US East Coast

About 35 out of every 100,000 people with private insurance in the U.S. are estimated to have sarcoidosis, and most disease clusters are located near urban areas on the East Coast, a new study shows. However, most of these clusters disappeared when controlling for race, “suggesting that geographical racial…

Ann Theodore Foundation and Milken Institute Award Grants

The Ann Theodore Foundation and the Milken Institute have awarded more than $3 million to six research teams nationwide to study sarcoidosis topics ranging from risk factors for the poorly understood disease to its underlying mechanisms. The Ann Theodore Foundation Breakthrough Sarcoidosis Initiative grant program seeks to understand…

Lower Rate of Smoking Seen Among Cardiac Sarcoidosis Patients: Study

Cardiac sarcoidosis may occur more frequently among people who are not current or past smokers, a study has found. The study, “Negative association of smoking history with clinically manifest cardiac sarcoidosis: a case-control study,” was published in CJC Open. Cardiac sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that occurs when clumps…

Sensitive Test to Detect Efzofitimod’s Target Developed

Researchers have developed a highly selective and sensitive test to detect neuropilin-2 (NRP2), the therapeutic protein target of efzofitimod, an experimental treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis by aTyr Pharma. Using immunohistochemical (IHC) detection methods, the new antibody-based tool — created in collaboration with Michael Muders, at the University Hospital…