Promise of First Generation Drugs

"The average lupus patient waits four years and sees three doctors before getting an accurate diagnosis. There have been no new drugs in 50 years."

I've seen some variation of this quote perhaps a hundred times in the last decade of Googling Lupus. In the last couple years, and really in the past year, the subsequent paragraphs have inspired a hell of a lot more realistic hope.

"This dismal situation may be about to change with the first generation of targeted lupus drugs winding their way through human trials. The drugs aim to short-circuit the abnormal antibody activity that drives the disease, without broadly suppressing the immune system the way existing treatments (such as oral steroids) do."

These quotes come from January 2010 Forbes article [http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0208/health-genome-sciences-glaxsmitkline-unlocking-secrets-lupus.html]. Gives me hope to think this generation of drugs is looking like a solid investment.

For more information, see http://www.lupusresearchinstitute.org/news/lupusnews/10/04/20/news-possible-drug-lupus-benlysta