Pfizer’s sickle cell drug flops at Phase 3 trial

pharmafile | August 6, 2019 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing |  Pfizer, Sickle cell, clinical trials, pharma, reset 

Pfizer has said its sickle cell drug rivipansel failed to meet its primary endpoint or key secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 trial.

The experimental drug flopped in a Phase 3 RESET study of patients aged six and older with sickle cell disease who were hospitalised for a vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), the US firm said.

Brenda Cooperstone, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Rare Disease, Pfizer Global Product Development, commented: “We are disappointed with the results, as we have been working in close partnership with the SCD community to advance rivipansel as a potential treatment option for acute VOC.”

“We plan to share the study data at an upcoming scientific meeting as we want to ensure the learnings from this trial help inform future sickle cell programs that aim to improve care for SCD patients experiencing a VOC. We express our sincere gratitude to everyone who made this study possible, including the study investigators, and in particular, the patients and their families.”

The results come after Pfizer licensed worldwide rights to rivipansel from US firm GlycoMimetics in a deal worth $340 million. Shares in GlycoMimetics were down 53% on announcement of the news.

Louis Goss