Pfizer cuts eight programs, including dwarfism drug at center of Therachon buyout
31 Jan 2023
Orphan DrugPhase 3Gene TherapyPhase 2Financial Statement
Pfizer is culling a number of programs in its pipeline, it disclosed in an update linked to its fourth quarter earnings call Tuesday.
Among those is recifercept, a drug for a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia that was the centerpiece of Pfizer’s
buyout of rare disease outfit Therachon
in 2019. At the time, Pfizer paid $340 million upfront, with an additional $470 million in milestones. In its earnings presentation, Pfizer said that the drug had failed a Phase II study.
In addition, Pfizer is cutting two Paxlovid indications that failed their respective Phase III trials — one for standard-risk patients and one for post-exposure prophylaxis. In May, Pfizer announced that Paxlovid did not significantly reduce risk of infection after exposure. And soon after, in June, Pfizer said it was stopping enrollment in its standard-risk trial as Paxlovid was not effective at reducing symptoms for those participants.
Pfizer is also stopping work on four early-stage candidates, including a drug for autoimmune disorders being tested in healthy volunteers. That drug was granted an orphan designation for a nerve disorder called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. In addition, it is cutting a biologic for solid tumors and kinase inhibitors for melanoma and metastatic breast cancer.
The early-stage cuts come after Pfizer said it would be narrowing its focus in rare disease and cancer earlier this month. Pfizer says it plans to double down on current areas of focus, like hematology and gene editing, but plans to ‘externalize’ a number of programs that don’t belong in those categories, including most rare neuro and cardio programs, and non-clinical gene therapy programs.
Pfizer did not respond to request for comment in time for publication.
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