The subject invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising an aqueous carrier; from 0.1 mg/ml to 20 mg/ml of the composition of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a peptide having the structural formula NH.sub.2-Gly Tyr Tyr Trp Ser Trp Ile Arg Gln Pro Pro Gly Lys Gly Glu Glu Trp Ile Gly-COOH; and a substituted .beta.-cyclodextrin in an amount effective to dissolve the peptide in the aqueous carrier, wherein the composition has a pH between 4 and 9, a process for preparation, and a method of alleviating symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a human subject comprising administering to the human subject the pharmaceutical composition.