Experimental Treatments

Benlysta (belimumab) is an approved therapy for lupus that is also being investigated to see if it can prevent flares or relapses in people with ANCA vasculitis. Benlysta is an antibody-based drug that blocks a chemical messenger in the blood known as BLyS or BAFF. As of 2019, the therapy was in Phase 3 testing for ANCA vasculitis.

Benralizumab is an under-the-skin  injectable therapy being developed for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a rare form of AAV. The medication is already approved, under the brand name Fasenra, for a rare type of asthma with similar immune cell features as EGPA. In a Phase 3 clinical trial, benralizumab showed comparable efficacy to the approved EGPA treatment Nucala at inducing disease remission.

Blisibimod is currently being developed for the treatment of IgA nephropathy, also known as Berger’s disease, but researchers believe it may also help treat ANCA vasculitis, an autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction and inflammation of small blood vessels. It has not yet been tested in people with ANCA vasculitis.

Orencia (abatacept) is approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It also is used to treat psoriatic arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The medicine is currently being investigated in Phase 3 trials for the treatment of patients with non-severe relapsing granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a type of ANCA vasculitis.