J&J scraps late-stage study testing Stelara for lupus

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson's Janssen unit said on Friday it would discontinue a late-stage study testing its psoriatic arthritis drug Stelara as a treatment for lupus as it was not found to be effective against the auto-immune disease.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, or lupus, causes inflammation in connective tissues, such as cartilage and the lining of blood vessels.

A second late-stage study to be conducted in China was planned but will not start given this decision, the company said.

Stelara, which blocks two inflammation-causing proteins IL-12 and IL-23, is one of J&J's largest revenue generators, bringing in sales of about $1.82 billion in first quarter this year.

The drug is approved in the United States to treat the skin condition scaly plaque psoriasis, a type of arthritis associated with psoriasis and Crohn's disease.

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla and Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)