Glaxosmithkline, with multiple operations in Montco, just scored a major regulatory win that could reshape how lupus nephritis is treated in children, writes Neha Gupta for Insider Monkey.
Late last month, the FDA approved the company’s 200 mg/mL autoinjector of Benlysta for pediatric patients as young as five, marking the first at-home treatment options for kids battling the serious autoimmune kidney condition.
This isn’t Benlysta’s first approval for young patients. It was first cleared in 2024 for systemic lupus erythematosus. But this latest green light makes Benlysta the only biologic approved for both SLE and lupus nephritis in over half a century, including for the pediatric population. The autoinjector is available immediately and gives patients and caregivers the flexibility to manage treatment outside of a hospital.
Benlysta works by targeting a protein called BLys that helps harmful B cells survive. It reduces the immune system’s damaging attack on the body. And while it doesn’t bind B cells directly, it effectively slows disease progression.
Learn more about Glaxosmithkline’s newest approval by checking out Insider Monkey.
