The studies excluded patients who had received prior B-cell targeted therapy or intravenous cyclophosphamide, and those who had active lupus involving the kidneys or central nervous system.
Novartis ' (nyse: NVS - news - people ) Gleevec, the first targeted cancer therapy, was approved after mid-stage trials in which it helped patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Insert Therapeutics and Intradigm are also working on targeted treatments, but both companies are also exploring the use of a Nobel Prize-winning therapy based on RNA interference (RNAi).