EP Vantage - Therapeutic focus – Lupus needs shots on goal to hit the mark

Headline	Therapeutic focus – Lupus needs shots on goal to hit the mark
Source	EP Vantage
Company	Human Genome Sciences, Active Biotech, AstraZeneca, Biogen Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cephalon, Immunomedics, ImmuPharma, Medarex, Merck KGaA, Roche, UCB, ZymoGenetics
Date	June 12, 2009
	Positive phase II data for Human Genome Sciences (HGS) Benlysta (formerly LymphoStat-B) not only provided a welcome boost for shares in HGS, it also raised hopes that a disease modifying treatment could yet be established for lupus, a major unmet clinical need. Following the recent high-profile phase III failures of Roche’s Rituxan and La Jolla’s Riquent, hopes for a breakthrough therapy for one of the hardest to treat medical conditions have been severely dented. However, the fact that Benlysta is one of 7 candidates in late-stage development, with 46 active research projects in total, suggests that at least a number of crucial shots at goal are being lined up which will hopefully deliver the first new treatment for lupus in over 40 years (see tables below).
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