Landmark lupus drug Benlysta approved in Europe
LONDON (Reuters) - Benlysta, the first new treatment for lupus in half a century, was approved for use in Europe, the drug's discoverer Human Genome Sciences and partner GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday.
The drug, which combats lupus -- a disease that causes the immune system to attack joints and organs -- was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March for certain patients with active lupus who were receiving standard therapy. The European authorization is along similar lines.
"The European approval of Benlysta represents a significant milestone, and we are very pleased to be able to provide physicians an additional therapeutic option for treating appropriate patients with this chronic disease," said Tony Hoos, Glaxo's Senior Vice-President of European Medical Affairs, in a statement.
Global sales of Benlysta, which is known generically as belimumab and which has been submitted for approval in other countries worldwide including Australia, Switzerland and Russia, may top $3 billion in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters consensus forecasts.
