Aurinia Response in Support of 2023 Updated EULAR Recommendations for Management of Lupus and New Treatment Paradigm for Lupus Nephritis

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) (Aurinia or the Company) – Aurinia welcomes the 2023 updated recommendations from The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) for the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) based on emerging new evidence, including a new treatment paradigm for lupus nephritis (LN).

The new recommendations suggest that in addition to traditional anchor drugs, therapies including LUPKYNIS (voclosporin) should be considered for any active class of lupus nephritis. Combination therapy can be used first-line (i.e., in treatment-naïve patients). If combination therapy is not used first-line, then add-on treatment with therapies, including voclosporin, should be considered if adequate response is not achieved within three to six months or in patients who experience disease flare. In most cases, patients should continue the therapy they were initially treated with for at least three years following treatment response, including voclosporin, as the guidelines cited the stable estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, an important measurement of kidney function) observed with voclosporin over 3 years.

Importantly, the recommendations suggest that 5 mg/day should serve as the highest acceptable maintenance dose of steroids in SLE or LN (previous recommendations suggested achieving <=7.5 mg/day by three to six months of LN treatment). This recommendation was based on the significantly lower glucocorticoid doses used in recent randomized clinical trials, including the AURORA clinical studies of voclosporin.

The recommendations highlight the profound repercussions of delaying diagnosis, thus recommending vigilant monitoring for new organ damage, especially lupus nephritis, at every visit (at least yearly).

“Aurinia appreciates EULAR’s thoughtful consideration for improving the management of lupus nephritis with recommendations that reflect therapeutic advancements in this underserved patient population. The updated recommendations reflect the growing recognition of the clinical value that a therapy like voclosporin provides to people living with lupus nephritis. These recommendations provide clear guidance for the importance of initial therapy with voclosporin plus standard of care to preserve kidney health in patients with active LN without reliance on chronic high-dose glucocorticoids,” said Dr. Greg Keenan, Chief Medical Officer of Aurinia.