Scarred by lupus, cleared by a drug that keeps getting better

Cutaneous lupus attacks the skin — painful rashes, hair loss, discoloration, and scars that can last a lifetime — and there has never been a treatment made just for it. That may be changing: Biogen's experimental drug litifilimab, which quiets the immune cells behind the flare-ups, kept working better the longer people took it. After a full year, more than one in four patients had clear or almost clear skin, up from fewer than one in five at six months, and nearly 29% saw their disease activity drop by at least 70%. Side effects were mostly mild — cold-like infections and achy joints. Presented at a major skin-disease congress in Vienna, the drug already carries the FDA's breakthrough designation, fast-tracking it toward patients.