Pfizer Inc and Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc have discontinued development of vupanorsen, an antisense oligonucleotide intended for cardiovascular risk reduction and the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridaemia, a condition characterised by high amounts of triglycerides in the blood. Announced on 31 January, the decision was taken despite favourable results from a recent Phase 2b study.
Data from four Phase 3 trials of faricimab, an experimental bispecific antibody for two eye diseases, were published online in The Lancet on 24 January, showing that the treatment delivered vision gains for patients that were at least as good as those achieved for aflibercept (Eylea), a widely prescribed ocular treatment. At the same time, faricimab required less frequent injections, according to the studies. Two of the trials enrolled patients with wet age-related macular degeneration and two enrolled patients with diabetic macular oedema.
The checkpoint inhibitor Imfinzi (durvalumab), in combination with chemotherapy, reduced the risk of death by 20% in a Phase 3 trial of patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, the developer AstraZeneca Plc announced on 18 January. The multicentre trial compared Imfinzi and chemotherapy, with chemotherapy alone as a first-line treatment. Called TOPAZ-1, the trial enrolled 685 patients with unresectable cancer, including gallbladder cancer.
Asian patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma were able to live longer after being treated with Keytruda (pembrolizumab), one of the most widely prescribed checkpoint inhibitors for cancer. A Phase 3 trial of 453 patients with the disease achieved an overall survival rate of 21%, potentially acting as a confirmatory study for an accelerated approval given to Keytruda for this indication in the US, the developer Merck & Co Inc announced on 18 January.
ReNeuron Group Plc has taken a decision to out-license a clinical-stage cell therapy programme for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an eye disease in which the retina is damaged, and focus instead on developing its exosome technology. The decision was announced to the London Stock Exchange on 18 January.
A Phase 2 trial of a small molecule drug for the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, or sudden deafness, failed to meet its primary efficacy endpoint, the developer Sensorion SA, announced on 17 January. The drug, SENS-401, was safe and well-tolerated but did not show a significant improvement in pure tone audiometry, a test used to measure hearing sensitivity. In the trial, it was compared with a placebo and administered to patients over a period of four weeks. The trial, AUDIBLE-S, enrolled 115 patients.
A monoclonal antibody developed by Novartis to treat chronic spontaneous urticaria, also known as chronic hives, did not show superiority to the marketed drug omalizumab in two Phase 3 trials. Announcing the trial results on 20 December, Novartis said that ligelizumab demonstrated superiority against placebo but not against omalizumab, known commercially as Xolair. Xolair, developed by Roche, has been approved for six indications in the US, including chronic idiopathic urticaria.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co has launched its second preclinical collaboration with Immatics NV in order to explore the potential of an antibody-like bispecific molecule as a treatment for solid tumours. The newest agreement, announced on 14 December, gives BMS exclusive rights to an engineered bispecific molecule consisting of a receptor that binds to a cancer target and a region that recruits T cells to the tumour site to become activated. The upfront payment is $150 million.
The US Food and Drug Administration has placed clinical holds on six trials of the HIV medicine islatravir after some trial participants showed a decrease in total lymphocyte and CD4+ T cell counts – a sign of weakened immune systems. Developed by Merck & Co Inc, islatravir is being studied for both the treatment and prevention of HIV-1 infection. “With the FDA’s clinical hold, no new studies may be initiated,” the company announced on 13 December.
The New England Journal of Medicine has published data from a Phase 3 trial of Dupixent (dupilumab), a widely prescribed anti-inflammatory drug which was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for children with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma. Data from the trial formed the basis of a US approval and have been included in a regulatory filing with the European Medicines Agency.