P140 (forigerimod)_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as Forigerimod, Lupuzor, IPP-201101, CEP-33457, rigerimod, P140 peptide, P-140
An experimental lupus peptide whose pivotal trial missed its endpoint in 2018.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is P140 (forigerimod)?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
An immune-modulating peptide meant to calm the T cells that drive lupus without suppressing the whole immune system. A 149-person phase 2b was positive at 12 weeks; a 202-person phase 3 was negative at 52 weeks. A redesigned trial at much higher doses has been planned since 2019 and has not started.
P140, INN forigerimod, trade name Lupuzor, is a 21-amino-acid fragment of a human cell protein (U1-70K snRNP, residues 131 to 151) with a phosphate on the serine at position 140. Developed by Sylviane Muller's group at the CNRS in Strasbourg and the UK company ImmuPharma for systemic lupus erythematosus.
What it's used for
An experimental monthly shot for lupus. One positive 12-week phase 2b, two negative randomised trials, no approval anywhere.
How does P140 (forigerimod) work?
What it does in the body, and where.P140 is a phosphorylated scrap of a protein that lupus patients make antibodies against. The proposed mechanism is that it jams the machinery presenting self-antigens to T cells.
- 01Binds the chaperone HSC70The peptide binds HSC70 (HSPA8), a chaperone that shuttles proteins into lysosomes and onto MHC class II molecules. Measured affinity is modest, in the micromolar range.
- 02Dampens chaperone-mediated autophagyIn lupus mice, treatment lowers HSC70 and LAMP2A in B cells and reduces the loading of self-antigen fragments onto MHC class II, so autoreactive T cells see less of what provokes them.
- 03Modulator, not suppressantTreated mice still mounted a normal response to a foreign antigen, and depleted T and B cells returned within ten days. The group describes this as restoring balance rather than suppressing immunity. All of it is mouse and cell data; the human trials did not test mechanism.
A schematic of the compound's mechanism, not a diagnostic image.
What else is it used for?
Each group carries its own evidence level.Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
Lupus
Investigational- Human trialPhase 2b, 149 adults, 12 weeks: 53.1% responded on 200 mcg every four weeks against 36.2% on placebo (p=0.048). The benefit was gone by week 24 once dosing stopped.
- Human trialCephalon's phase 2, 183 adults, 24 weeks, same dose in a different formulation: 34.4% responded against 40.2% on placebo. Negative.
- Human trialPivotal phase 3, 202 adults, 52 weeks: 52.5% responded against 44.6% on placebo (p=0.26). Negative. A Europe-only subgroup of antibody-positive patients reached significance after the fact and was not the primary endpoint.
- No dataNo new trial has started since 2018. The planned redesign would use doses up to 20 times higher after a 2022 study found the peptide survives about eight minutes in blood after injection under the skin.
Mechanism in lupus mice
Early research- Animal studyIn MRL/lpr lupus mice, P140 binds the chaperone HSC70, lowers HSC70 and LAMP2A in B cells, and transiently depletes activated T and B cells, with normal responses to a foreign antigen preserved.
- No dataThe developers call the mechanism supported rather than proven, and the senior author is a patent co-inventor.
The INN is forigerimod, not "rigerimod"; the latter appears in no WHO list and in no journal. Lupuzor is not approved anywhere and is not a cure. The "62% response" figure is the 12-week phase 2b target-population result; the same dose failed at 24 weeks in Cephalon's trial and at 52 weeks in the pivotal phase 3. The sponsor's "zero serious adverse events" line for the phase 3 is unqualified; the registry shows 13 of 101 patients with serious events on drug, including a heart attack and a stroke, against 16 of 101 on placebo. Fast Track dates from 2011, not 2016. The planned higher-dose phase 3, described since 2019, has not started.
The published record
Papers and trials about P140 (forigerimod)
12 papers tagged human · 4 not reviews or lab · 3 clinical trial publications
4 registered trials · 3 with posted results
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count. 12 papers and 4 trials indexed in detail.
At a glance
Four things to know about P140 (forigerimod)
Evidence
Investigational
Category
Immune support
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
Minutes: about 8 under the skin, 35 into a vein
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.200 mcg every 4 weeks (every trial to date), every 4 weeks. Continuous monthly dosing in the trials Trial dose
Given every four weeks for 12 to 48 weeks on top of standard lupus care, with no planned breaks. The phase 2b's drug-free follow-up showed the week-12 benefit had faded by week 24.
Minutes: about 8 under the skin, 35 into a veinTrial protocol
An unmodified 21-residue peptide with no fatty tail or protecting group, so it is cleared almost at once. Absorption from under the skin was about 1% of the intravenous exposure. This finding is why the FDA advised far higher doses for any future trial.
Source: ISRCTN16878305 basic results (2023): terminal half-life 8.21 min after 800 mcg SC, 34.7 min after 800 mcg IV, 16 healthy men
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
How do I dose and price it?
Enter your vial and your dose. Pick a mix. We show the draw and the cost.The vial holds a fixed amount of drug. Adding more water does not make more drug, it just spreads it thinner, so you draw a bigger number on the syringe for the same dose.
Choose your mix
Measuring the water1 mL = one full 100-unit syringe.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Dry powder in the freezer or fridge. Once mixed, fridge, and use within about a month.
Unmixed lyophilized P140 (forigerimod) keeps for a long time cold. Once you add water the clock starts: most reconstituted vials hold up for roughly 28 to 30 days at fridge temperature. Keep it out of light, and do not freeze it after mixing.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Solubility, computed: 38% charged residues, 33% hydrophobic. Water usually sufficient.
A first-pass rule from peptide manufacturers' guidance. It does not account for disulfide bridges, salt form or how the powder was dried, and it predicts what should be easy rather than what will happen in your vial.
Who should avoid it
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding, excluded from every trial
- Severe kidney impairment (eGFR under 30), excluded from the phase 3
- Recent cyclophosphamide, rituximab or belimumab, excluded from the phase 3
- Anyone expecting a treatment that works, because the two largest randomised trials were negative
Stop and get help
- Spreading hives, swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing
- Signs of serious infection such as fever with a productive cough, since pneumonia was among the serious events recorded in trials
- A lupus flare that is getting worse
Common effects
- Injection-site redness in about 6 to 10% of people against 1% on placebo, all mild
- Upper respiratory and urinary tract infections at rates similar to placebo
- Serious adverse events in 13% on drug against 16% on placebo in the 52-week phase 3
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is P140 (forigerimod) approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.No. P140 (forigerimod) is not approved anywhere and is currently in company-run clinical trials. There is no legal route to obtain it outside a trial.
- Approval statusInvestigational
- RouteUnder the skin (subcutaneous)
- Checked10 October 2026
- DoseFrom published clinical trials. Not approved by a regulator for this dose.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- SourcesClinicalTrials.gov results, Lupuzor pivotal phase 3 (NCT02504645)Zimmer R et al., Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2013, phase 2bClinicalTrials.gov results, Cephalon phase 2 of CEP-33457 (NCT01135459)ISRCTN16878305, phase 1 pharmacokinetic study of IPP-201101 (basic results)ImmuPharma, topline results of the phase 3 (RNS, 17 Apr 2018)ImmuPharma, FDA Fast Track and Special Protocol Assessment (RNS, 3 Nov 2011)ImmuPharma, half-year results (15 Sep 2026)WHO, Recommended INN List 66 (2011)FDA GSRS substance record, forigerimod (UNII 1JRB6UKG4Q)Page N et al., PLoS ONE 2009, HSC70 as the binding partner
What has happened recently
Not approved anywhere. FDA granted Fast Track designation and agreed a Special Protocol Assessment for the phase 3 in November 2011. That trial missed its primary endpoint in April 2018 (52.5% responders against 44.6%, p=0.26). In 2022 the FDA advised testing higher doses after a pharmacokinetic study showed the peptide lasts minutes in blood with about 1% absorption under the skin. ImmuPharma has described a phase 3 at doses up to 20 times higher since 2024, with US partner Avion; as of September 2026 no new trial has started or been registered.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like P140 (forigerimod)?
Others in Immune support, side by side.If you're weighing P140 (forigerimod), it's worth reading Splenopentin, Thymopentin (TP-5), and Tuftsin in the same class.
An experimental lupus peptide whose pivotal trial missed its endpoint in 2018.
- Dose
- 200 mcg every 4 weeks (every trial to date)
- How often
- Every 4 weeks
A five-amino-acid spleen peptide, sold on an evidence base almost nobody has read.
- Dose
- Research only
- How often
- Not established
Five amino acids that carry the whole activity of a thymus hormone.
- Dose
- 50 mg per dose
- How often
- 3x per week
A four-amino-acid immune peptide from the 1970s, and the parent of Selank.
- Dose
- Research only
- How often
- Not established
Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
- How to Read a Peptide COA
What the purity number does and does not tell you, and how to spot an edited report.
- How to Vet a Peptide Vendor
Independent COAs, HPLC purity, and the red flags that mean walk away.
Sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov results, Lupuzor pivotal phase 3 (NCT02504645)(2019)202 adults with lupus, 200 mcg every four weeks for 48 weeks plus standard care. SLE Responder Index at week 52: 52.5% on drug against 44.6% on placebo (p=0.2631). Serious adverse events 13 of 101 against 16 of 101. The primary endpoint was not met.
- Zimmer R et al., Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2013, phase 2b(2013)149 adults, 12 weeks. SRI response at week 12: 53.1% on 200 mcg every four weeks against 36.2% on placebo (p=0.048); 61.9% against 38.6% in the target population (p=0.016). The every-two-weeks arm was not significant. By week 24, off treatment, the arms had converged (59.2% against 53.1%).
- ClinicalTrials.gov results, Cephalon phase 2 of CEP-33457 (NCT01135459)(2022)183 adults, 200 mcg every four weeks for 20 weeks in a trehalose formulation. SRI at week 24: 34.4% on drug against 40.2% on placebo (p=0.40). Negative. ImmuPharma attributes this to the trehalose excipient.
- ISRCTN16878305, phase 1 pharmacokinetic study of IPP-201101 (basic results)(2023)16 healthy men. Terminal half-life 8.2 minutes after 800 mcg under the skin and 34.7 minutes after 800 mcg into a vein. Absorption from under the skin roughly 1% of the intravenous exposure. No serious adverse events.
- ImmuPharma, topline results of the phase 3 (RNS, 17 Apr 2018)(2018)Primary endpoint not met, attributed by the sponsor to a high placebo response. Antibody-positive subgroup 61.5% against 47.3% (p=0.097). A Europe-only antibody-positive analysis reported later reached p=0.022 in 79 people.
- ImmuPharma, FDA Fast Track and Special Protocol Assessment (RNS, 3 Nov 2011)(2011)FDA granted Fast Track designation and agreed the phase 3 design under a Special Protocol Assessment.
- ImmuPharma, half-year results (15 Sep 2026)(2026)P140 remains the lead asset; a patent on P140 and a proposed immune endotype was filed; a licensing deal is targeted for 2026. No new trial is reported as started.
- WHO, Recommended INN List 66 (2011)(2011)The INN is forigerimod: the phosphorylated 131-151 fragment of human U1 snRNP 70 kDa, formula C117H181N34O32PS. "Rigerimod" appears in no WHO list.
- FDA GSRS substance record, forigerimod (UNII 1JRB6UKG4Q)(2026)21-residue sequence RIHMVYSKRSGKPRGYAFIEY with phosphoserine at position 10 (residue 140 of the parent protein); no other modifications; CAS 497156-60-2.
- Page N et al., PLoS ONE 2009, HSC70 as the binding partner(2009)P140 pulled down HSC70 from mouse immune cells; surface plasmon resonance affinity about 7 micromolar; the peptide induced apoptosis of activated CD4 T cells in lupus mice.
Beyond these, 16 records are indexed. Browse the records