Pharmaceutical Business review

Human Genome’s lupus drug shows positive results in phase II

LymphoStat-B also significantly reduced disease activity across multiple clinical measures.

In the mid-stage clinical trial, SLE patients given LymphoStat-B showed reduced disease activity after 52 weeks. Additionally, more than 95% of patients of those in the trial signed up for another 24 weeks of treatment, and 78% of those elected to continue receiving the medication in a long-term study. The trial began in October 2003.

More than 300,000 people are afflicted with SLE in the US. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, painful and swollen joints, unexplained fever, skin rash, and kidney problems. Lupus can lead to arthritis, kidney failure, heart and lung inflammation, central nervous system abnormalities, inflammation of the blood vessels, and blood disorder.