First Treatment for Lupus in Over Five Decades Receives FDA Approval

In what could prove to be a major money spinner for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Human Genome Sciences Inc (HGSI), the US Food and Drug Administration has given its approval for the first treatment developed for lupus in more than five decades.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that makes the immune system of the body to attack joints and organs. Latest figures reveal that up to 1.5 million Americans could be affected by this disease.

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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs like the joints, skin, kidney, heart, lungs, blood vessels and brain.

Developed by HGSI, the treatment, known as Benlysta, is to be used along with the currently treatments for lupus though the FDA has only approved the drug for use among certain patients suffering from the disease. The treatment has also shown to be not effect among black patients though HGSI said that the trials did not contain enough numbers to arrive at the conclusion.

Analysts predict that the drug could generate annual sales of anywhere between $3 billion to $5 billion for HGSI and GSK by the end of 2015. Both the companies will be splitting the profits equally.

Source-Medindia

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