The Lupus Research Alliance Lupus Industry Council (LIC) includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies working together in the pre-competitive space to address common impediments to drug development in lupus and accelerate the pace of bringing new lupus therapies to the market. The LIC convenes quarterly to identify and discuss barriers in drug development, as well as hosting working groups for collaborative projects that leverage the strengths and resources of industry, the LRA—including Lupus Therapeutics—and the academic research community. When applicable, LIC Working Groups may serve as incubators for projects that can be developed into proposals for submission to the Lupus Accelerating Breakthroughs Consortium (Lupus ABC).
New members are welcome; contact Kari Fischer, Ph.D. (kfischer@lupusresearch.org). Lupus ABC members automatically receive membership to the LIC.
As of August 21, 2025, The following companies are currently members of the LIC:
- AbbVie
- AbelZeta
- Adicet Bio
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- Autolus
- Biogen
- Bristol Myers Squibb
- Cabaletta Bio
- Caribou Bio
- CRISPR Therapeutics
- Eli Lilly and Company
- EMD Serono
- Fate Therapeutics
- Genentech
- Gilead Sciences, Inc.
- GSK
- Hinge Bio
- iCell Gene Therapeutics
- Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (J&J)
- Kyowa Kirin International
- Merck
- Nkarta
- Novartis
- Sanofi
- Synthekine
- UCB
- Zenas Biopharma
Current Working Groups
Lupus Nephritis Urine Protein Biomarkers
Current biomarkers for assessing lupus nephritis cannot reliably distinguish between active inflammation and lasting damage, while kidney biopsy—the gold standard for evaluating intrarenal pathology—is invasive and unsuitable for routine monitoring. Noninvasive biomarkers that accurately reflect kidney pathology could enable earlier diagnosis, real-time assessment of treatment response, and potential prediction of long-term outcome. This working group was established in October 2023 to identify urine protein biomarkers for lupus nephritis by 1) selecting the most useful biomarkers for the intended context(s) of use; 2) developing a suitable assay using the appropriate platform and vendor; and 3) lay the groundwork for the appropriate regulatory submissions.
Flare Prevention in Clinical Studies
Current SLE clinical trials enroll only patients with moderate to severe disease activity at the time of entry. This exclusion of patients with milder disease or in remission significantly limits patient eligibility and recruitment. Moreover, the current trial design with existing outcome measures with fixed endpoints are not well-suited to assess the impact of investigational therapies on the relapsing-remitting nature of lupus. Established in March 2025, this working group seeks to explore the use of flare prevention as a potential endpoint to measure efficacy in clinical trials. It will begin by assessing the feasibility of analyzing existing placebo data to understand how flares are currently measured across studies and then engage with the community to explore how flare prevention trials could be effectively designed.
Former Working Groups
Thus far, the LIC has completed the following projects. Read more about the accomplishments of the LIC.
- Drivers of Response and Non-response for SRI-4 and BICLA in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Clinical Trials
- Dynamic Imaging of Variation in Lupus Nephritis (DIVINE)
- LIC-OMERACT Partnership to Advance SLE Outcome Measures
- Determinants of ANA Expression in Patients with Lupus
