Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex, heterogeneous, inflammatory, chronic auto-immune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues, leading to widespread damage in various organs, including the kidneys, lungs, heart, brain, skin, joints, and blood vessels. Exact causes of SLE are not clear. The degree of SLE can range from mild to life-threatening. SLE patients may experience a variety of symptoms, such as rashes, fevers, fatigue, pain or swelling in the joints, oral ulcers, and immunological abnormalities. Women are more frequently affected than men for every ethnicity and age. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus. Systemic lupus accounts for approximately 70 percent of all cases of lupus. As reported by Frost & Sullivan, the global population of SLE sufferers is projected to grow to 8.6 million by 2030. Only two biologics have been approved by the FDA for SLE in the last 60 years. With limited clinical treatment options available and no cure for the disease, effective management of SLE remains a huge challenge. SLE has been a focus of active ongoing clinical research worldwide.

Behçet’s Disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder that typically affects young adults. Inflammation of the blood vessels leads to clinical manifestations in multiple organs, including recurrent oral ulcers, genital ulcers, joint pain, and many other symptoms. The exact cause of Behçet’s Disease is not clear. As diagnosis of the disease mainly relies on the symptoms, a three year diagnostic delay is not uncommon. The disease is rare in the US and Western Europe and occurs most frequently in the Middle East and Asia, with the highest prevalence rate of 80 to 370 cases per 100,000 in Turkey. Japan, Korea, and China also have high prevalence rates. The unmet medical need for Behçet’s Disease treatment remains huge, as current therapeutic options are very limited.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, chronic, painful, disfiguring, and disabling disease. The disease can trigger skin cells to multiply up to 10 times faster than normal, making the skin build up into bumpy red patches covered with white scales and causing great physical, emotional and social burden. The disease can begin at any age, but often develops between the ages of 15-25. There are approximately 150,000 new cases of psoriasis each year in the US, and at least 100 million individuals worldwide are affected by the disease, making psoriasis a serious global problem. There are several types of psoriasis, the most common of which is plaque psoriasis. Plaque psoriasis can cause silvery-red, scaly patches on any part of the body. Psoriasis can also occur on the scalp. Studies show that 10 to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, a musculoskeletal disease presents with pain and stiffness in the affected joints. As the disease progresses, most patients will experience further pain, decreased mobility and functional impairment. Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis remain major healthcare concerns, as the prevalence of these diseases increases and the lack of curative therapies remains.

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) are among the most common hematological malignancies and are characterized by abnormal maturation of blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to clonal proliferation of immature blood cells and cytopenias (too few normal blood cells). Most MDS patients present with anemia-related symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and pain. The incidence of MDS is about 4 in 100,000 per year and the estimated prevalence is 7 in 100,000. The incidence of MDS rises sharply in persons over the age of 80, reaching over 50 in 100,000 per year. The median survival time from the initial diagnosis is about 30 months. Currently approved drugs for the treatment of MDS, including the hypomethylating agents (HMA) azacitidine and decitabine and lenalidomide for MDS with del(5q), are not curative and their effects on survival are limited. Given the current lack of drugs with convincing evidence of favorable efficacy on MDS survival, there remains a high unmet clinical need for the treatment of the disease.

Lymphoma comprises a group of cancers that originate in the lymphoid system. There are two major categories of lymphoma: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). NHL, which typically develops from B and T lymphocytes in the lymph nodes or tissues through the body, accounts for 80 to 90 percent of lymphoma cases with more than 30 different subtypes. In 2015, there were around 4.3 million patients with NHL, and approximately 231,400 died worldwide. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of aggressive NHL, representing about 30 percent of all NHL cases. Mantle cell lymphoma and Adult T cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) are relatively less common. Follicular Lymphoma (FL) is the most common type of indolent NHL and is often incurable. The treatment of lymphoma has changed dramatically over the past decade, but lymphoma patients may still require multiple rounds of treatment. Novel therapies for the treatment of lymphoma are still urgently needed.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes. CLL results in the buildup of B cell lymphocytes in the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and blood. These cells do not function normally and can crowd out healthy blood cells. Symptoms include non-painful swelling of the lymph nodes, fatigue, fever, unintentional weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and anemia. In 2015, there were approximately 904,000 patients with CLL globally, resulting in 60,700 deaths. CLL treatment includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immune therapy and bone marrow transplantation. Current treatments may control CLL development initially, however, most CLL patients will relapse and require subsequent therapies.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of malignant plasma cells which are found in the bone marrow. Most patients diagnosed with MM present some common symptoms, including anemia, bone pain, and fatigue. With close to 160,000 new cases diagnosed each year, MM accounts for about one percent of all cancer types and ranks the second most frequently occurring hematological cancer around the world. The disease affects 2 to 3 people per 100,000 per year worldwide, with a higher incidence in the US than in Asian countries. The average age at diagnosis is 50 to 65. MM is considered treatable, but generally still incurable. Depending on the stage of the disease and response to therapy, the prognosis of MM is variable. MM remains a key area of clinical research in oncology.