Trubion slumps after Pfizer kills lead RA drug program

Shares of Seattle-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN) slumped after Pfizer announced that it was dumping the development program for its lead rheumatoid arthritis drug. TRU-015 had been Trubion's first shot at a best-in-class CD20 therapy that could compete with Rituxan. But in a mid-stage clinical trial--in which TRU-015 was combined with methotrexate--the drug failed to provide a statistically superior to the placebo plus methotrexate, which registered an unusually high response. "Given...

Lilly nabs rights to Incyte’s RA drug for $755M

Eli Lilly is ending 2009 with its check book out and pen in hand. This morning Lilly announced that it will pay Incyte $90 million upfront and up to $665 million more for the worldwide rights to its anti-inflammatory therapy INCB28050 and certain follow-on drugs. The oral drug is a JAK inhibitor currently in mid-stage trials for rheumatoid arthritis. "This new alliance with Incyte reinforces Lilly's commitment to expand our presence in inflammation and autoimmunity through the development of a...

ChemoCentryx commences enrollment in CCX354 Phase 2 clinical trial for RA

ChemoCentryx, Inc. today announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of CCX354, an orally-bioavailable, novel, small molecule drug designed to specifically target the CCR1 chemokine receptor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis...