Pfizer’s sickle-cell treatment efforts falter as drug fails study

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By Padmanabhan Ananthan

(Reuters) -In the latest setback for Pfizer’s sickle cell anemia treatments, experimental drug inclacumab failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage trial for patients aged 16 and older.

The trial results showed no significant difference in the number of vaso-occlusive crises — or painful events common in sickle cell disease — among people who took the drug versus those who took the placebo, the drugmaker said on Friday.

This makes inclacumab the second drug from Pfizer’s 2022 acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics to yield unfavorable results. Oxbryta – the centerpiece of the $5.4 billion buyout – was withdrawn last September over risks of painful complications and deaths.

“Pfizer’s acquisition of Global Blood has proven disappointing with inclacumab’s failure coming after Oxbryta’s 2024 withdrawal from all approved markets” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman.

The previously estimated $3 billion in revenue contributions from the deal now seems unlikely to materialize, Seigerman said.

Pfizer said it was disappointed by inclacumab’s results but remains committed to supporting the sickle cell community.

The company will keep working on its sickle cell treatments, including Oxbryta and osivelotor, another therapy secured from the Global Blood deal.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder in which red blood cells become sickle- or crescent-shaped and can cause strokes, organ damage and death.

Existing FDA-approved therapies for the genetic blood disorder includes Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ and CRISPR Therapeutics’ Casgevy and Bluebird Bio’s Lyfgenia.

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Devika Syamnath)