Whither Sanofi R&D? Another Setback For An Oncology Drug

For the second time in the past several months, Sanofi is scuttling development of a cancer drug, underscoring the difficulty the drugmaker is having in transforming its R&D operations. The latest setback involves a myelofibrosis treatment called fedratinib; Sanofi has ended clinical trials and will not make a regulatory filing after receiving case reports of encephalopathy that prompted talks with the FDA (read Sanofi statement here). Last June, Sanofi found that another medication, iniparib, failed to help newly diagnosed non-small lung-cancer patients in a late-stage trial, prompting the drugmaker to discontinue research and take a $285 million charge. After the iniparib failure, fedratinib was seen as an anchor for building a portfolio of new cancer treatments. Until this year, in fact, these drugs were touted as a cornerstone in a new oncology division that Sanofi ceo Chris Viehbacher created four years ago. And several months ago, Sanofi lowered the price of its Zaltrap colorectal cancer medicine after physicians at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center wrote a scathing op-ed in The New York Times to say they would not use the newly approved medication (more here). However, oncology is not the only area where Sanofi (SNY) has struggled. Earlier this year, the drugmaker ended development of a bloodthinner. Two months ago, an application for its lixisenatide diabetes drug was withdrawn at the FDA over concerns that “potential public disclosure” during an agency r...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs