CSL Ltd. will review the data further to see if there is a path forward for CSL-112 (human apolipoprotein A-I) after the phase III AEGIS-II trial failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoint in reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients following an acute heart attack.
On the verge of top-line data from its phase IIb trial with oral small-molecule CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) antagonist zelnecirnon in atopic dermatitis (AD), due around the middle of this year, Rapt Therapeutics Inc. said the U.S. FDA has imposed a clinical hold on that study with the otherwise promising drug, also known as RPT-193, in AD as well as the phase IIa trial with the same compound in asthma.
South Korean biopharmaceutical firm GNT Pharma Co. Ltd. on Feb. 13 reported positive findings from a domestic phase III trial of its neuroprotectant therapy, nelonemdaz (NEU-2000), for patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s AVP-786 missed the primary endpoint for a third time in a phase III trial for agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Two previous phase III trials also failed to show statistical significance for AVP-786.
Hong Kong’s Hutchmed (China) Ltd. reported mixed phase III results of fruquintinib as a second-line combination therapy for advanced gastric cancer on Feb. 6, with the oral vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor hitting just one co-primary endpoint.
Kalvista Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s positive phase III news Feb. 13 with sebetralstat, an oral on-demand kallikrein inhibitor, in hereditary angioedema (HAE), sparked Wall Street speculation about competitor Pharvaris BV with deucrictibant, a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s decision to change its analysis plan for the phase III Helios-B trial of RNAi therapeutic Amvuttra (vutrisiran) to treat transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, pushing top-line results back by three months, pressured its share price (NASDAQ:ALNY) down by 10% on Feb. 15, while also boosting shares of competitor Bridgebio Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BBIO) by 14%.
Inventiva SA has halted enrollment in its pivotal phase III Nativ3 trial with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) candidate lanifibranor after a patient experienced raised liver enzymes indicative of autoimmune hepatitis. The resulting delays to the study could spell trouble for the firm, which estimates its cash runway will only see it through to the start of the third quarter 2024.
Based on positive phase III study data, Applied Therapeutics Inc. plans to take its CNS-penetrant aldose reductase inhibitor to the U.S. FDA to talk about an NDA for treating the rare disease sorbitol dehydrogenase (SORD) deficiency. Interim data from 12 months of treatment showed govorestat (AT-007) hit the study’s primary endpoints along with several key secondary endpoints. The double-blind, placebo-controlled registrational study of patients ages 16 to 55 is ongoing, with another 12 months of data yet to come. SORD, a hereditary axonal neuropathy created by sorbitol dehydrogenase gene mutations, affects about 3,300 people in the U.S. and about 4,000 in Europe, according to Applied Therapeutics.
South Korean biopharmaceutical firm GNT Pharma Co. Ltd. on Feb. 13 reported positive findings from a domestic phase III trial of its neuroprotectant therapy, nelonemdaz (NEU-2000), for patients with acute ischemic stroke.