## A Change for the Better 

For the past six years, Lucja Blesi, a 42-year-old mother of two and book dealer in St. Gallen, Swit - zerland, has been battling rheumatoid arthritis. 

It started as a mysterious joint swelling of a finger, and then worsened until her hands, feet and other joints were affected. The pain was constant and impaired her ability to walk. “I was unable to get up in the morning,” Blesi recalls. And while a standard therapy subsequently relieved much of the pain, “It was difficult to go on vacation. Many acute flareups still caused severe bouts of pain,” she admits. 

In 2011, her rheumatologist, Rüdiger Müller, M.D., at the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen, prescribed Orencia IV. Her acute episodes have decreased and now she is back to taking walks and even skiing. Recently, Müller switched her to the newly approved subcutaneous formulation of Orencia  so that she can administer the medication herself. He is enthusiastic about the broadened options for using Orencia . “This way,” he says, “we can treat patients with Orencia according to their preferred mode of administration.” 

“When I used to have these terrible episodes,” Blesi says, “I would think, ‘Why me? Why now?’ But now I am getting back to doing the things I used to do.” 

initiative to improve the quality of life for women living with HIV. The program seeks to educate health care provid- ers about the special needs of women while also empowering women to get the most out of health care services. SHE “units,” multidisciplinary teams based in clinics and hospitals, have been established at 16 health facilities in Europe, with 32 more planned for 2013. The teams draw on SHE pro- gram medical and peer support mate- rials and faculty expertise to improve 

care and encourage best practices. 

## Baraclude 

Baraclude  sales were $1.4 billion in 2012, with over 80 percent of sales coming from outside the U.S., including 35 percent growth in China, its largest market. About three-quarters of the 350 million people worldwide infected with hepatitis B virus are in Asia, including more than 90 million in China. The growth of Baraclude  as first-line therapy for chronic hepatitis B infection 

is supported by data demonstrating sustained viral load reduction, minimal resistance and a favorable long-term safety profile, along with disease awareness efforts about understanding how the disease affects the liver. 

r Looking to the future, studies are underway of a novel interferon, pegin- terferon lambda-1a, both as a poten- tial stand-alone hepatitis B treatment and as part of combination treatment with Baraclude . 

Lucja Blesi 

