Benlysta Formulation for Lupus Gets FDA Nod

A new subcutaneous formulation of Benlysta (belimumab) has received FDA approval for the treatment of adult patients with active, autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are receiving standard therapy, GSK announced.

This is the first subcutaneous self-injection treatment option for patients with SLE, according to GSK. Patients will be able to administer the medicine as a once-weekly injection of 200 mg, from a single-dose prefilled syringe or a single-dose autoinjector, after receiving training from their health care provider.

This is the second formulation of Benlysta to be granted FDA approval for SLE, GSK noted. The intravenous formulation, approved in 2011, is administered to patients as a weight-based dose of 10 mg/kg, via a 1-hour infusion in a hospital or clinic setting every 4 weeks (after an initial loading phase given on days 0, 14, and 28).

“Lupus can impact the lives of patients in many different ways with varied and often unpredictable symptoms,” said Vlad Hogenhuis, GSK’s Senior Vice President, Head of Specialty Care. “Since it launched in its IV form, thousands of patients worldwide have received treatment with Benlysta. The approval of the new injectable formulation will now provide an additional choice for patients, allowing them to self-administer their medicine at home rather than going to hospitals or clinics for their infusions.”

The approval is based on data from the BLISS-SC phase III pivotal study of more than 800 patients with active SLE. The study measured reduction in disease activity at Week 52 in patients receiving belimumab plus standard of care versus those receiving placebo plus standard of care (assessed by the SLE Responder Index).

The Benlysta subcutaneous formulation will be available in specialty pharmacies in the United States in late August.

Further regulatory submissions for the subcutaneous formulation of Benlysta are under review or planned in other countries during the course of 2017.