In July of 2009, Human Genome Sciences (HGS) and partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), makers of the alli diet drug, announced that their lupus drug candidate Benlysta was effective and safe in the later stages of a clinical trial, raising hopes for a genuine treatment for the disease.

“Benlysta could be the first true disease-modifying therapy for lupus patients,” said stock analyst Joseph P. Schwartz of Leerink Swann.

Benlysta is a human monoclonal antibody. It blocks the B-lymphocyte stimulator, a protein required for a type of white blood cell to age into plasma B cells, which produce antibodies. HGS made the amazing discovery of the B-lymphocyte stimulator in 1999. With the help of Cambridge Antibody Technology, now part of AstraZeneca, they developed a monoclonal antibody that stems the stimulator’s role in an overactive immune system.

When HGS came out with the news of the effectiveness of their drug, Sandra C. Raymond, CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America, called it a “historic day.” “These results provide hope that this complex chronic autoimmune disease can be brought under control and that, eventually, a cure can be found for the estimated 1.5 million Americans and more than 5 million people worldwide living with lupus,” she said in her official statement upon announcement of the trial results. On the same “historic day,” HGS’s stock price more than quadrupled.