Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI) and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has approved ‘Benlysta’, an injectable drug designed to relieve flare-ups and pain caused by the disabling disease. Benlysta was discovered by biotech drugmaker Human Genome Sciences to combat lupus, a disease that makes the immune system attack the body’s own tissue and organs.
“We and GSK are honored to have the opportunity, with the approval of FDA, to bring Benlysta forward in the United States as the first new drug for systemic lupus in more than 50 years,” said H. Thomas Watkins, President and Chief Executive Officer, Human Genome Sciences. “We expect to have this novel therapy available to physicians and patients within about two weeks”