ROCKVILLE, Md. A decision by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee could pave the way for the first new drug to treat lupus in decades.
The FDA’s Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 13-2 Tuesday to recommend approval for Benlysta (belimumab), a drug for systemic lupus erythematosus made by British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline and U.S.-based Human Genome Sciences, the two companies announced. Lupus is an inflammatory disorder that affects internal organs, joints and skin and, in its severest forms, can be fatal.
