Pfizer drops early-stage asthma candidate

pharmafile | May 11, 2011 | News story | Research and Development |  Pfizer, Rigel, asthma 

Pfizer has returned the rights to a phase I asthma candidate to Rigel Pharmaceuticals.

San Francisco-based Rigel says Pfizer is giving up on R343 because of its decision to exit allergy and respiratory R&D. Nevertheless it is likely that Pfizer reassessed the drug as not having sufficient promise to continue its development.

R343 is an inhaled syk inhibitor for allergic asthma that recently completed several phase I clinical trials.

Rigel says initial results from phase I trials, which have not yet been published, show R343 to be well tolerated and with beneficial improvement in both the early and late phase asthmatic responses following an allergen challenge.

Andrew McConaghie