New Lupus Option: The FDA approved a lupus treatment co-marketed by GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences, the first lupus drug approved in more than 50 years, and one expected to eventually reach $1 billion in annual sales, the WSJ reports. The agency said studies suggest Benlysta, a bioengineered antibody that blocks a protein thought to fuel lupus, may help reduce the flare-ups that are characteristic of the autoimmune disease.
Anesthesia Discussion: An FDA advisory panel meets today to consider research, mostly in animals, that suggests a connection between general anesthesia and brain-cell death and cognitive difficulties in children under age four, the New York Times reports. One advisory panel member tells the paper this issue is made extremely difficult by the lack of direct evidence of a connection in humans and the fact that young children who do receive anesthesia are mostly having surgeries crucial to their health.
Out of the Gates: Hospital operator HCA Holdings priced its IPO at $30 a share, raising about $3.79 billion, the WSJ reports. It’s the largest-ever IPO of a company backed by private equity; Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch were among those backers, the paper says.
On the List?: Jeffrey Kindler, who said in December he’d leave his position as CEO of Pfizer, is among the Obama administration’s possible candidates to succeed Gary Locke as U.S. secretary of Commerce, Bloomberg News reports, citing a person familiar with the process. An administration spokeswoman wouldn’t comment on the issue to BN, which reports that Google’s Eric Schmidt and U.S. trade rep Ron Kirk are also potential replacements. The men either couldn’t be reached for comment by BN or declined to comment on their prospects.
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