Genelabs Snapshot
Genelabs Technologies and lupus sufferers both believe 50 years is a long time to wait for a new drug. The company has developed Prestara to treat lupus, a condition for which a new drug has not been approved in the US for five decades. The company first submitted Prestara for FDA approval in 2000 and has been working with the agency ever since to gather enough clinical evidence to win a regulatory green light for the drug. In addition to its efforts with Prestara, the company has licensed development of a hepatitis E vaccine to GlaxoSmithKline and is has a drug discovery program looking for new compounds to treat hepatitis C. It is working with Novartis on some hepatitis C candidates.