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Morphosys, Novartis and Galaagos shut down development of atopic dermatitis candidate

pharmafile | October 31, 2019 | News story | Research and Development Galapagos, Novartis, atopic dermatitis, morphosys, pharma 

The trio of Galapagos, MorphoSys and Novartis Pharma has revealed that all further development of its MOR106 drug candidate for the treatment of atopic dermatitis is to be terminated.

The decision was reached by all three parties after an interim analysis discovered that the candidate was unlikely to meet the study’s primary endpoint of percentage change in the eczema area and severity index (EASI) score.

However, the company pointed out that while the therapy’s efficacy was in question, its safety profile was not.

The drug was discovered through the partnership of Morphosys and Galapagos, with Novartis entering into an agreement with the pair to commercialise it worldwide in 2018.

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“We are obviously disappointed with this result of MOR106 in atopic dermatitis. Together with our collaboration partners, we will explore the future strategy with MOR106,” commented Dr Piet Wigerinck, Chief Scientific Officer of Galapagos.

Dr Markus Enzelberger, Chief Scientific Officer of MorphoSys, also remarked: “Unfortunately, the results from the interim analysis for futility do not support the continuation of the current clinical development of MOR106 in atopic dermatitis. While we are clearly disappointed, we remain committed to the development of MorphoSys’ proprietary early and late-stage drug candidates, such as MOR202 and especially tafasitamab.”

Matt Fellows

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