This project aims to improve the disease-modifying treatment of lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil®) is currently widely used in the treatment of SLE but the use of this long-term treatment is limited by the appearance of irreversible retinal toxicity, which although relatively rare, requires regular ophthalmic monitoring.

Thanks to the discovery of the cellular targets of hydroxychloroquine responsible for the therapeutic effect and also for retinal toxicity, a multidisciplinary team coordinated by Professor Korganow tested a series of chemical compounds derived from HCQ and selected a molecule capable of no longer interacting with the retinal target.