4 September 2020 - - US-based contract research organisation PPD, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPD) and Lupus Therapeutics, an affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance known for its lupus clinical trials expertise, have entered into a collaboration to expand and enhance lupus clinical research for PPD's pharmaceutical and biotech customers, the organisations said.

Through the collaboration, PPD can provide enhanced protocol and trial optimization capabilities for its customers, drawing on LT's scientific, operational and drug development expertise, as well as LT's preferred investigators and Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) sites.

In turn, in association with PPD, LT can provide patients with greater access to novel medicines and clinical care.

PPD's immunology team has a dedicated group of experienced professionals with extensive lupus expertise, along with board-certified rheumatologists with industry and in-house experience in efficacy reviews, safety monitoring and site training for SLE trials.

Through this collaboration, PPD has access to the more than 50 LuCIN research sites with over 200 affiliated investigators, who collectively see more than 20,000 active systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Through this joint endeavor, PPD and its customers will benefit from the LT Patient Advocates for Lupus Studies programme, through which patient-to-patient interactions facilitate and improve clinical trial education and awareness for ongoing trial activities at participating LT centers.

Lupus is a chronic condition in which a person's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs, causing inflammation that can damage any part of the body.

Lupus is difficult to diagnose because its signs and symptoms can imitate a wide variety of other ailments.

Some of the key indications that Lupus Therapeutics addresses include SLE, lupus nephritis, chronic cutaneous (discoid) lupus, subacute cutaneous lupus, acute cutaneous lupus and central nervous system lupus.

PPD is a global contract research organisation providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services.

Its customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organisations.

Lupus Therapeutics is an affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance, which aims to transform treatment while advancing toward a cure by financing the most innovative lupus research in the world.