Belimumab: a guide to its use in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Belimumab (Benlysta®), a fully human recombinant IgG1λ monoclonal antibody that inhibits the binding of soluble B lymphocyte stimulator to B cells, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with active, autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with a high degree of disease activity despite receiving standard therapy. In multinational trials, significantly more belimumab recipients than placebo recipients achieved an SLE Responder Index response at 52 weeks.