First Lupus drug in 50 years passes phase 3 trial

[IrishBuckeye]

Great news.

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Human Genome Sciences Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc said their experimental lupus drug reduced patients’ symptoms in a yearlong study, raising hope of the first new therapy in more than 50 years for the autoimmune disease.

The 865-patient study, known as Bliss-52, found Benlysta was more effective at easing pain, hair loss and skin rash than a placebo, according to a statement from Rockville, Maryland- based Human Genome and London-based Glaxo.

“The lupus community has really been on tenterhooks waiting for a positive announcement,” Sandra Raymond, chief executive of the Lupus Foundation of America, a Washington, D.C.-based patient advocacy group, said in a July 17 telephone interview, before the results were announced. “Since lupus was first discovered over a century ago, there has never been a drug specifically developed for lupus.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=HGSI%3AUS&sid=am8d7NnxYQ9Y