美政府核准治疗狼疮新药

“It’s so exciting to see that a drug is coming out that targeted specifically for lupus patients because in the past we have been taking drugs that have been found helpful but not specifically for us,” says Gaskin.

狼疮病人伊娃·加斯金说：“看到这种专门狼疮患者的新药，太让人高兴了。我们过去一直服用的那些药虽然也有帮助，但并不是专门治疗狼疮的。”

Benlysta also represents a medical milestone. Its American developer, Human Genome Sciences, calls it the first drug derived from the genetic mapping of human proteins.

“本利斯塔”也标志着医药发展的一个里程碑。研发这种药物的美国“人类基因组科学公司”指出，这是第一个根据人类蛋白质基因图谱研发出来的药物。

Company vice-president Barry Labinger says the firm is proud of the fact that after so many years of research, development, and clinical trials, they finally have an anti-lupus drug that directly targets the autoimmune disorder.

公司副总裁巴里·拉宾吉尔表示，他们经过多年的研究、发展和临床试验，终于研制出针对自身免疫系统病症的抗狼疮药物，他们为此感到自豪。

“Benlysta works on the immune system by blocking a part of the immune system that becomes over-active in the presence of autoimmune disease," says Labinger. "Autoimmnue disease in particular tends to happen far more frequently in women and people of color and so Benlysta turns out to be an important drug for those patients, as well as a broader population for anybody who has lupus.”

拉宾吉尔说：“本利斯塔阻隔在出现自身免疫系统疾病时免疫系统中过度活跃的那一部分。自身免疫系统疾病更多发生在妇女和有色人种中。对这些病患、以及任何狼疮病人，本利斯塔都是一种非常重要的药物。”

Lupus affects women nine times more than it does men. And it occurs disproportionately in African-American, Hispanic and Asian populations.

女性罹患狼疮的机率比男性高9倍，而且在非裔、拉美裔和亚裔中偏高。但是拉宾吉尔表示，本利斯塔不是万灵丹，也不适用于所有病人。

Labinger says Benlysta is not a miracle drug, and it's not for everyone. “It is a very important step forward. There is room for more than one treatment for lupus patients over time and we hope that this is a first step towards a number of advances for patients with lupus.”

他说：“这是向前迈进的重要一步。对于狼疮患者的治疗，还有更多的发展空间。我们希望，这只是朝研制各种先进药物治疗狼疮病患迈出的第一步。”

Human Genome Sciences will soon begin a large study of African-American lupus patients.

拉宾吉尔说，人类基因组科学公司很快将开始对非裔美国人狼疮患者展开大规模研究。

In the meantime, lupus sufferer Eva Gaskin says her condition is stable for now, but she's relieved she has Benlysta to fall back on if her lupus should flare up again.

与此同时，狼疮患者伊娃·加斯金说，她的病情现在比较稳定。另外，她知道，如果旧疾复发，可以服用本利斯塔，所以感到放心。