Opinion: Drug developers shouldn’t shortchange the autoimmune community

My teenage years were ravaged by severe autoimmune disease. In that era, the burdens of treatment for Crohn’s disease rivaled the misery of the affliction.

My illness brought searing stomach pain, fatigue, and fistulas. The steroids my physician prescribed caused breakouts of cystic acne all over my body as well as exhausting bouts of hyperactivity, manic mood swings, and a serious case of moon face.