What is the purpose of the Belong clinical study?

The purpose of the Belong study is to evaluate an investigational drug called ocrelizumab, a monoclonal antibody designed to kill B lymphocytes, also called B cells.

In the healthy body, B cells are important for the defense against microbes. In lupus, B cells produce autoantibodies that attack cells in the kidney, the joints, the skin, and other organs. Removing these B cells may help control lupus disease activity and diminish kidney damage.

The study will test whether ocrelizumab might help improve and stabilize your body’s kidney function if you have lupus with kidney involvement. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either ocrelizumab or a placebo (a substance that looks like ocrelizumab but does not contain active ingredients) in addition to other medications that are normally used to treat lupus nephritis.

To see a list of participating study sites, click here.