Rigel制药放弃狼疮药R333临床开发

Rigel制药10月24日宣布，由于一项II期临床试验失败，该公司计划终止实验性外用皮肤科JAK/SYK抑制剂R333的临床开发，该药旨在开发用于慢性皮肤病盘状红斑狼疮（DLE）患者皮肤损伤的治疗。

这是Rigel公司在2013年遭受的第3个挫折。约2个月前，也是由于一项II期临床试验失败，该公司终止了实验性哮喘药物的临床开发。

合作伙伴阿斯利康（AstraZeneca）于今年6月终止了Rigel公司实验性类风湿性关节炎药物fostamatinib的临床开发，该药由阿斯利康于2010年从Rigel处授权获得。

Rigel公司同时称，已与FDA讨论了有关开发fostamatinib作为一种血液疾病紫斑症的治疗药物，该公司计划于2014年上半年启动2项III期临床研究。

今年9月，由于研发受挫，Rigel公司被迫裁员30名研究人员以节省开支重组研究团队。

英文原文：Rigel to drop skin disease drug after trial failure

Thu Oct 24, 2013 8:52am EDT

(Reuters) - Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc said it would stop the development of its drug to treat skin lesions in patients with discoid lupus, a chronic skin disease, after the treatment failed a mid-stage trial.

Shares of the company fell nearly 9 percent to $3.24 in premarket trading.

This is the third setback for Rigel this year and comes about two months after the company stopped the development of its asthma drug, which failed a mid-stage trial.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca stopped developing Rigel's rheumatoid arthritis treatment, fostamatinib, in June, which it licensed from Rigel in 2010.

Rigel said on Thursday the skin disorder drug, codenamed R333, failed to reduce the redness and roughness of flaky skin in patients with discoid lupus, a disease characterized by sores that can lead to scarring and hair loss.

Chief Executive Officer James Gower said the company would now focus on its drugs to treat dry-eye disease and a blood disorder, both of which are currently in mid-stage studies.

Rigel also said it met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss fostamatimib as a treatment for a blood disorder, and would start two late-stage studies of the drug in the first half of 2014.

Shares of the company, which have fallen about 22 percent since AstraZeneca scrapped its rheumatoid arthritis drug, closed at $3.54 on Wednesday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting By Vrinda Manocha in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Savio D'Souza)