> Totally right about the dearth of studies b/c of "no money to be made".

One hears this sort of thing over and over. Mostly from people who haven't looked into it. In fact, studies have been done and showed that there was no actual benefit. Why would legitimate scientists spend millions of dollars on something which has already been shown not to work? 

Hollander et al reported the first controlled trial of
bee venom efficacy in 24 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These patients
received the equivalent of 10-30 bee stings as intradermal injections per visit
over an average of 18 sessions with sessions performed twice weekly. Controls
were nine rheumatoid arthritis patients injected with a milk protein mixture.
Improvement occurred in seven of 24 (29%) venom-injected patients and in
three of nine (33%) milk protein-injected patients. The conclusion was that
bee venom therapy (BVT) offered no significant improvement in patients with
rheumatoid arthritis

Hollander, J. L. (1941). Bee venom in the treatment of chronic arthritis. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 201(6), 796-801.

Cohen, A., Pearah, J. B., Dubbs, A. W., & Best, C. J. (1942). Bee Venom in the Treatment of Chronic Arthritis: A Comparative Study. Trans Med. Soc. State Pennsylvania, 45, 957-959.

¶

Physicians should not recommend BVT to their patients suffering from
arthritis or multiple sclerosis because there is no evidence from clinical
studies to show benefit to balance the inconvenience of pain, swelling, and
possible risk of anaphylaxis. BVT is contraindicated in pregnancy.

Marcolina ST. Apitherapy: What's the buzz? Bee venom therapy for arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Altern Med Alert 2003;6(2):13-16.

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