Defense spending bill includes restoration of millions in lupus research funding that had been eliminated last year

Legislative wins for Lupus Research Alliance represent major advocacy milestones that could lead to breakthroughs in lupus therapies

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lupus Research Alliance, the world's largest private funder of lupus research, today announced major legislative wins on behalf of the lupus community in the recently-introduced federal spending bill. The spending bill restores $10 million for the Department of Defense (DoD) Lupus Research Program and protects robust investment in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Congress also expressed specific support for the Lupus Accelerating Breakthroughs Consortium (Lupus ABC), the public-private partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focused on new lupus therapies. These wins were made possible by the critical advocacy work from the Lupus Research Alliance, its community members, and bipartisan allies in Congress.

The Lupus Research Program (LRP), part of DoD's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), was initially established in 2017 as a direct result of the Lupus Research Alliance's advocacy. Beginning in 2020, it was funded at $10 million annually until Fiscal Year 2025, when Congress passed a full-year continuing resolution that cut overall CDMRP funding by $840 million and did not include funding for the LRP. Restoring this funding was the Lupus Research Alliance's top legislative priority this year for advocates and leaders like the founder, The Honorable Robert Wood Johnson. 

"We thank Congress for recognizing the tremendous value and need for the Lupus Research Program," Johnson said. "While we are deeply gratified to see the extraordinary discoveries made possible by this program thus far, there is still much vital work to be done. When our community shared the very real challenges of living with lupus, Congress listened and acted on their behalf."

Strong Leadership Championing Lupus Research
This achievement is due to the strong, ongoing dedication to lupus research by the Congressional Lupus Caucus, led by Reps. Bill Keating (D-MA) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), as well as House Appropriations Committee leadership, including full Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), and Defense Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) – as well as Ranking Members Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

Continued Investment in NIH Grants
As part of the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education bill, lupus research remains a priority within NIH funding, which was funded at $48.7 billion, an increase of $415 million above the 2025 level.

"We were pleased to see Congress recognize the importance of medical research by appropriating $48.7 billion to the NIH budget," Albert T. Roy, President and CEO of the Lupus Research Alliance, said. "While our organization invests more in lupus research than any other private funder, our investigators also apply for grants from the NIH to continue the groundbreaking work essential to improve diagnosis and treatments for the millions impacted. The opportunity to secure continued funding of this work is crucial."

Forging Critical Public-Private Partnership 
Enacted in November 2025, the Agriculture-FDA appropriations bill included language specifically supporting the Lupus ABC, a public-private partnership formed by the Lupus Research Alliance, uniting people living with lupus, investigators, pharmaceutical companies, and the FDA to accelerate lupus drug development in a precompetitive, collaborative setting and ensure that the perspectives of people with lived experience of lupus are incorporated into the drug development process.

The legislation stated:

"The Committee is aware of barriers that have long affected the development of therapeutics for lupus, a disease that primarily affects women. The Committee is pleased that FDA has partnered with researchers, industry, patients, and other stakeholders to launch the Lupus Accelerating Breakthroughs Consortium (ABC), a public-private partnership to accelerate development of new therapies. The Committee encourages FDA to continue this engagement and provide updates on its efforts to accelerate development of safer and more effective treatments for people with lupus."

"For people living with lupus, these recent wins are signs that our voices are being heard," Shanelle Gabriel, a lupus advocate and member of the Lupus ABC, said. "Lupus is a devastating disease, and we will continue to push for investment and prioritization by the public and private sectors to fund the research needed to deliver critically needed treatment options and a cure."

Keep up with the latest from the Lupus Research Alliance's advocacy efforts here.

About Lupus
Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In lupus, the immune system, meant to defend against infections, produces autoantibodies that mistake the body's own cells as foreign, causing other immune cells to attack organs such as the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs and skin, as well as blood and joints. Ninety percent of people with lupus are women, most often diagnosed between the ages of 15-45. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander people are disproportionately affected by lupus.

About the Lupus Research Alliance
The Lupus Research Alliance is the largest non-governmental, non-profit funder of lupus research worldwide. The organization aims to transform treatment by funding the most innovative lupus research, fostering scientific talent, and driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and, ultimately, a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance's Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs.

For more information or to donate to lupus research, visit the LRA at LupusResearch.org and on social media at: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance