FDA Unleashes Biological Experiment on Lupus Patients

In cases of autoimmune problems, taking a sledgehammer to the immune system has never been a problem to regulatory authorities or to the profits of rheumatologists and drug companies – just to patients. 

The new biological immune-suppressing drug is called Benlysta¹ and is made by Human Genome Sciences Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.  It costs $35,000 per year and is targeted for the 1.5 million U.S. citizens with lupus.  For that whopping price it provides modest symptom relief and fewer flare ups. On the downside, people taking it die faster and have much more severe infections. It doesn’t work on African-Americans and may even be harmful, although the FDA did not even bother to restrict its use on African-Americans!

The drug is expected to be an immediate blockbuster, with first year sales of over 1 billion and will likely pass up the insane use of atypical antipsychotics as the top-selling drug in America.  Said another way – this is the latest scam to bilk taxpayers of tens of billions of dollars for a medication that cures nothing, does little, and speeds up death and injury.