2021 ACR – New Analyses Highlights Disease Activity Reduction in Lupus Patients

Dr. Susan Manzi, Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Medicine Institute at Allegheny Health Network discusses new analyses presented at the 2021 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual meeting from the TULIP Phase III trials showing Saphnelo™ (anifrolumab), in addition to standard therapy, resulted in a greater reduction in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity regardless of disease duration, standard therapy type and prior treatment, compared to standard therapy alone. She talks about what these results mean for the lupus community, especially given the recent FDA approval of Saphnelo in August.

Dr. Susan Manzi is Immediate Past Chair of the Lupus Foundation of America Board of Directors and also serves as the Foundation’s Acting Medical Director.

Dr. Manzi is chair of Allegheny Health Network Medicine Institute and director of its Lupus Center of Excellence. She is a Vice Chair and Professor at Temple University.

She received her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed her medical internship and residency at Duke University Medical Center where she was appointed Assistant Chief Resident, after which she completed her fellowship in rheumatology at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and received her master’s degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Dr. Manzi is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in lupus patient care and research, and a pioneer in scientific investigation of cardiovascular disease in patients with lupus. She has served on a number of study sections and currently is a member of the Clinical and Integrative Cardiovascular Sciences Study Section for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

She is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Systemic Lupus International Cooperating Clinics Committee, and a member of the Foundation’s Medical-Medical-Scientific Advisory Committee. She has participated in the design and implementation of many phase I, phase II and phase III clinical trials and her expertise in this area has led to her appointment to the FDA Arthritis Advisory Board and six data safety monitoring boards for NIH intramural and extramural programs.

Dr. Manzi has an extensive national and international patent portfolio with exclusive licensing of lupus biomarker technology to Cypress Biosciences, Inc., in San Diego, CA with the intent to commercialize the technology over the next several years. Dr. Manzi has been the recipient of millions of dollars in research funding from the NIH and other agencies. She has published more than 100 reports of research in lupus and related diseases.