The experimental lupus treatment passed another key goal on its path to significantly becoming the first new drug for the disease in a long time, said Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline.

This led to the shares of Human Genome Sciences soared more than 35 percent on the report.

Results from a previous late-stage study were hoping to be confirmed when Wall Street and researchers study data from Bliss-76.

Benlysta is targeted at suppressing the immune system's response to lupus, which is an inflammatory disease in which the body attacks its own tissue and organs.

The study data from a clinical program known as Bliss-76 revealed that a 10 milligram dose of Benlysta, plus therapy with steroids, triggered an improvement in as many as 43 percent patients in comparison to just 33 percent of patients on the placebo end of the study.

Human Genome President and CEO H. Thomas Watkins, in a statement, "The Bliss-76 results confirm our view that Benlysta has the potential to become the first new approved drug in decades for people living with systemic lupus, we take great pride in the innovation and scientific rigor that has made it possible to bring Benlysta to this point."