PLEASE HELP US SUPPORT HEALTH COVERAGE OF BENLYSTA® IN THE UK

From LRI President/CEO Margaret Dowd

Friday, October 28, 2011

Dear Lupus Research Institute Supporters,

As you may have seen in the news recently, most lupus patients in the United Kingdom may not be able to afford treatment with Benlysta® as a result of a recommendation by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). We at the Lupus Research Institute along with our National Coalition of lupus patient groups fought hard to advocate for the approval of Benlysta by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration here in the United States; we are equally concerned that lupus patients everywhere have the same access to the best treatment available.

The approval of Benlysta as the first new treatment in 50 years was a source of renewed hope for the 1.5 Americans suffering with lupus, and we are proud to have helped bring that about. But we want to bring that same sense of hope to the millions of lupus patients throughout the world who might benefit from treatment.

Please take just a few minutes to CLICK HERE and add your voice to the thousands petitioning NICE to recommend that the United Kingdom’s National Health Service provide coverage of Benlysta. Help us extend the loop against lupus all the way across the “pond!”

Thanks so much for your continued support,

Margaret Dowd
President/CEO Lupus Research Institute
Executive Director S.L.E. Lupus Foundation