October 26, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
LONDON – One year after Losmapimod finally flunked out as a treatment for high-risk heart disease patients, GlaxoSmithKline pulled the plug on the drug as a potential treatment for patients with COPD.
GSK’s decision came following a long and hard look at Phase II data, according to an Endpoints report. Losmapimod is a selective inhibitor of the enzyme family known as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, which are mediators of acute inflammation. GSK has a number of treatments for COPD in its pipeline, but the loss of the Losmapimod program will be another sour note for Andrew Witty as he closes out his tenure at the helm of the company.
There had been hopes that Losmapimod would be a strong performer for GSK, but that was not to be the case. In January 2016, GSK pulled the plug on another Phase III trial with Losmapimod for acute myocardial infarcation (heart attack) after disappointing trial results were announced. GlaxoSmithKline has had a tough go in recent years with some of its R&D efforts. In 2014 another heart drug, darapladib, dialed to meet primary endpoints in a Phase III trial.
Still, while the Losmapimod failure is disappointing for a company looking to drum up excitement about its R&D pipeline, the company did see a strong 23 percent surge in sales during the third quarter to $9.8 billion, according to its report. Sales were driven, in part by its respiratory drugs Revlar/Breo, Anoro, Incruse and Nucala, the company said. The company was also bolstered by the filing of its New Drug Application in the United States for Shingrix, a shingles treatment.
Witty said the quarter reflected strong performances across the company. With the filing for Shingrix, Witty said the company has completed three of four NDAs in the U.S. the company targeted for the second half of 2016. Additionally, he said the company has launched four Phase III trials for HIV, respiratory and anemia treatments, as well as five Phase II trials. Still, the company is looking for a turnaround in sales, which were rather flat last year in Europe and the U.S. In the U.S., sales were down about 10 percent as the result of formulary and contract changes to asthma drug Advair. Glaxo is under pressure to develop new drugs that aren’t threatened by generics.
Earlier this year, Witty had announced his intention to step down in March 2017, after 10 years atop the company. His resignation comes at a time when investors have questioned company strategy to combat lagging sales, as well as several scandals that rocked the company. In September, GSK tapped Emma Walmsley to helm the company. She will move to the CEO slot after spending time running the company’s consumer healthcare division.
