Galapagos, Gilead Discontinue Late-stage Trials In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

(RTTNews) - Galapagos NV (GLPG) and Gilead Sciences (GILD) said that they have decided to discontinue the ISABELA Phase 3 studies with the investigational autotaxin inhibitor ziritaxestat in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The decision came after the Independent Data Monitoring Committee's conclusion that ziritaxestat's benefit-risk profile no longer supported continuing those studies.

"We are extremely disappointed by this news. Despite this setback, we remain committed to leveraging our novel target research engine and strong cash balance to discover potential therapies for IPF and fibrosis," said Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos.

The companies said that all clinical trials with ziritaxestat, including the long-term extension of the Phase 2a NOVESA trial in systemic sclerosis, will be discontinued.

Ziritaxestat (GLPG1690) is an investigational autotaxin inhibitor discovered by Galapagos. Gilead in-licensed ex-European rights to ziritaxestat in July 2019 and commenced sharing the Phase 3 development costs.