Nationwide's Virgin Money swoop blasted by Aussies: Bank's biggest independent investor 'disappointed' with board agreeing £2.9bn takeover
TONY HETHERINGTON: Boss behind firms fined £340k for more than 1.4m nuisance calls is unmasked
Cash in on the Northern property boom as our experts reveal the university city that offers landlords a huge 14% annual return
Councils that ban you from car parks if your vehicle is TOO LONG: Five now have length restrictions as most authorities say they've no plans to extend bay sizes
86-year-old's woes with a faulty smart meter that sent his bills soaring show why so many people are shunning them, writes JEFF PRESTRIDGE
Gerald Seymour has written 40 pacy thrillers, but big screen success hasn't materialised: 'Hollywood silly money? I'd only have stuffed it under the bed!'
British businesses awash with 'accidental' bosses who have received no formal training, recruitment firm warns
Gold is seen as a solid investment in times of turmoil - experts share their 24-carat advice on how (and when) to get involved
MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Why it soon won't be hip to give the cold shoulder to Smith & Nephew
FTSE 100 hits an all-time high - but remember the stock market adage of 'sell in May and go away' says HAMISH MCARE
North Sea projects worth £21bn put at risk by Labour: Tax threat to British jobs and investment
Rachel Reeves wants to banish the idea that Labour is anti-business, but where is the 'white heat' revolution to revive Harold Wilson's glory days?
Helium and hydrogen company set to join stock market in boost for City
CITY WHISPERS: Bill Ackman's cerulean eyes charm 'Woodstock' crowd at Berkshire Hathaway
Should the Bank of England have cut interest rates instead of holding firm? The This is Money podcast
Households with emergency savings pots rises substantially in recent years - five financial trends revealed in new research
Families with TWO retired generations will surge to one million in a decade: Savings have to stretch further if you want to help out your loved ones
'My oven is redundant': Almost half believe ovens will be obsolete as air fryer craze shows no signs of slowing
Some sneaky estate agents only putting forward offers from buyers who use their in-house mortgage broker
From Victorian to Regency, the five most popular types of period property currently for sale revealed
Bank of England holds interest rates at 5.25% for sixth time in a row - what it means for YOUR mortgages and savings
When will interest rates fall? Forecasts on when base rate will be cut - and what borrowers and savers should do
How much would a rate cut save you? Use our interest rate rise or fall mortgage calculator
We're financial experts - this is how you can use your Isa and pension to grow your wealth in the new tax year

Green light for GSK's lupus drug in America

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 04:25 EDT, 18 November 2010

View
comments

Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline has received a boost after America's drugs watchdog endorsed one of its potential blockbuster medicines.

Drugs do work: Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to Benlyst

An advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to Benlysta, the first treatment for the disease Lupus in half a century. This is likely to lead to full regulatory approval next month.

Shares in Glaxo surged 29.5p to 1243p on hopes that a potential multibillion windfall will offset some of the revenues GSK is set to lose over the coming years as older medicines lose their patent protection.

GSK is also withdrawing its blockbuster diabetes treatment Avandia from Europe, and is severely restricting sales in the US, after it was found to increase the risk of heart attack.

Global sales of Benlysta - developed in partnership with American biotech Human Genome Sciences - are forecast to soar to £1.4bn by 2014, with Glaxo taking a 50% share.

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.