What condition does the new experimental drug Benlysta treat?”
An experimental lupus drug made by Human Genome Sciences under the brand name Benlysta helped more than half of the patients who tried it, making it the first new drug in decades to show promise against the intractable disease. Here are some facts about lupus. * Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when the immune system starts to attack the body’s own tissues, causing swelling and damage to joints and organs throughout the body. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, as many as 5 million people globally have a form of lupus, including 1.5 million in the United States. * There are four types of lupus: systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus erythematosus and neonatal lupus. Of these, systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common and serious form. * Ninety percent of people who get lupus are women, typically aged 15-44, but it can affect men, children and teenagers as well. African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Amer
In what has been described as the first lupus drug in decades to show effectiveness in phase 3 clinical trials, the announcement that Benlysta (belimumab) outperformed placebo has surprised Wall Street, where many had assumed the drug was going nowhere. Earlier today, the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) and its National Coalition of state and local organizations congratulated Human Genome Sciences Inc (HGS) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on what they described as the “highly promising results” of the late stage trial of their experimental drug to treat people with systemic lupus. Benlysta (belimumab) is the first investigational human monoclonal antibody in a class called “BLyS-specific inhibitors” and is being developed by HGS and GSK under a co-development and commercialization agreement that they signed in August 2006. BLyS-specific inhibitors recognize and inhibit the biological activity of B-lymphocyte stimulators. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or lupus, is a chronic and sometimes
An experimental lupus drug that produced favorable results in a company-backed study has prompted its makers on Monday to tout the drug as potentially the first new drug for lupus in half a century. The drug, Benlysta, acts as a kind of biological volume control, dialing down the intensity of the immune response that attacks lupus patients’ tissues, often wreaking havoc in vital organs. All 865 patients in the trial were given standard therapy for lupus, with steroids as a mainstay of treatment. Researchers found that 52% of patients on a low dose of Benlysta and 58% of those taking a high dose of the drug, along with standard therapy, experienced a significant improvement in their disease, compared with just 43% of those taking standard therapy and a placebo.
