FDA Approves First Lupus Drug in 50 Years

March 9, 2011— -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved Benlysta, the first lupus drug in half a century.

The drug, made by Human Genome Sciences Inc., is designed to lessen the severity of lupus, a little-understood disease in which the body's immune system attacks tissues and organs, producing skin rashes, joint pain, chronic fatigue and in severe cases, heart and kidney complications.

Even though Benlysta has been shown to be only moderately successful in decreasing disease markers (an FDA advisory committee expressed some trepidation about its effectiveness last November), the dearth of other effective treatments makes Benlysta the hope of many a lupus researcher and patient.

"We still have a long way to go in understanding and treating lupus, but it's important to approve this right now. It really is the first drug for lupus to meet clinical endpoints [in decades]," says Dr. Betty Diamond, a lupus researcher who heads the Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Diseases at the Feinstein Institute.

Current standard of care for lupus includes high-dose steroids and anti-malaria medication to hamper the body's immune system. These medications can cause bone deterioration, infection, muscle weakness, ulcers and more, which, compounded with the symptoms of the disease itself, greatly hinder quality of life.

For Kathleen Nolan, 43, a registered nurse, currently available lupus treatments left her at the end of her rope. She still experienced severe fatigue and terrible joint pain that made it impossible for this registered nurse to get through the day without lying down.

"I was so frustrated. My doctor told me there was nothing more they could do for me," Nolan says. That was when she was referred to the Feinstein Institute in Manhasset, N.Y., where she was enrolled in a trial for the Benlysta.