Aurinia Announces Year-Two Commitment to Patient Navigation Grant Program to Address Barriers for Individuals Living with Lupus and Lupus Nephritis

– Company seeks proposals to create and sustain community-focused programs to support underserved populations with these conditions –

VICTORIA, British Columbia & ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) (Aurinia or the Company) today, affirmed its commitment to individuals living with the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis (LN) through the sponsorship of charitable grants to establish or expand community-focused patient navigator programs. This is the second year of this unique program aimed at eliminating barriers to care for individuals living with SLE/LN. LN is a serious manifestation of SLE that can cause irreversible kidney damage and kidney failure and significantly affects more Black, Asian, and Hispanic individuals than non-Hispanic White individuals. Selected applicants may receive up to $50,000 over a one-year period.

The Request for Proposal (“RFP”) invites U.S. based charitable organizations to submit proposals that outline the development and execution of patient navigation programs that address barriers to screening, treatment, and supportive care for individuals living with SLE and LN. Grants will be awarded based on grantee ability to collaborate with local lupus centers (community or academic) and ability to deliver outcomes that:

• Educate patients on the importance of routine screenings and medical appointments
• Enhance patient/provider communication
• Ensure patient’s basic needs are met (address social determinants of health)
• Empower patients to make informed decisions about their health
• Bridge access gaps
• Connect patients with resources needed to receive ongoing treatment and medical care

Preference will be given to programs that support underserved communities, specifically, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians.

In the first year of the grants program, Aurinia awarded $250,000 in Grants to support 5 patient navigation programs for a 12-month period (2021-2022). Throughout this time, grant recipients convened regularly to share lessons learned, best practices, as well as program metrics.

“The results from the first year of patient navigation grants illustrate the measurable impact these programs can have on improving diagnosis and disease management and supporting better adherence to medical appointments and treatments,” said Jessica Bateman, Advocacy Relations, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. “We remain committed to this important program and to doing our part to mitigate the barriers to health equity and ultimately improve outcomes for those living with SLE and LN.”

Organizations are encouraged to submit applications by June 10, 2022. The full RFP can be found here.

About Lupus Nephritis

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic and complex autoimmune disease. About 200,000-300,000 people live with SLE in the U.S. and approximately one out of three of these individuals develop LN. If poorly controlled, LN can lead to permanent and irreversible tissue damage within the kidney, resulting in kidney failure. Black and Asian individuals with SLE are four times more likely to develop LN and individuals of Hispanic ancestry are approximately twice as likely to develop the disease when compared with Caucasian individuals. Black and Hispanic individuals with SLE also tend to develop LN earlier and have poorer outcomes when compared to Caucasian individuals.

About Aurinia

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering therapies to treat targeted patient populations that are impacted by serious diseases with a high unmet medical need. In January 2021, the Company introduced LUPKYNIS™ (voclosporin), the first FDA-approved oral therapy for the treatment of adult patients with active LN. The Company’s head office is in Victoria, British Columbia, its U.S. commercial hub is in Rockville, Maryland, and the Company focuses its development efforts globally.