A team of international researchers, including ImmunoSensation³ member Prof. Jörg Wenzel, reports promising phase 2 results for enpatoran, a first-in-class oral TLR7/8 inhibitor, in patients with cutaneous and systemic lupus erythematosus (CLE/SLE). In the WILLOW trial, enpatoran significantly improved skin disease activity in a dose-dependent manner and showed favourable safety outcomes. In systemic SLE, treatment also reduced global disease activity and rapidly suppressed the type I interferon gene signature. The twin studies were published in The Lancet and The Lancet Rheumatology.
Publications
Morand, E. F., Dall’Era, M., Sanchez-Guerrero, J., Pearson, D. R., Werth, V. P., Wenzel, J., Roy, S., Kleinmond, C., Gühring, H., Sgouroudi, E., Klopp-Schulze, L., Moreau, F., Fernandez-Ruiz, R., & Furie, R. (2026). Enpatoran, a Toll-like receptor 7/8 inhibitor, in moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus: findings from Cohort B of a multicentre, international, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-finding phase 2 trial. The Lancet, 407(10541), 1809–1824. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00463-0
Morand, E. F., Werth, V. P., Wenzel, J., Furie, R., Dall’Era, M., Sanchez-Guerrero, J., Roy, S., Goodson, S. G., Moreau, F., Gühring, H., Sgouroudi, E., Klopp-Schulze, L., & Pearson, D. R. (2026). Efficacy and safety of enpatoran, a Toll-like receptor 7/8 inhibitor, in patients with skin manifestations of cutaneous lupus erythematosus or systemic lupus erythematosus: findings from Cohort A of a multicentre, international, double-blind, placebo-con…. The Lancet Rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(25)00337-6
Contact
Prof. Dr. Jörg Wenzel
Center for Skin Diseases
University Hospital Bonn
Email: joerg.wenzel@ukbonn.de
Phone: +49 228 28715370
