CETP death pronouncement may have been a bit premature...
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REPEAT&CORRECT: Pfizer Ends Development Of CETP Class Of Cholesterol Drugs -2-
("Pfizer Ends Development Of CETP Class Of Cholesterol Drugs" at 5:02 p.m. EDT
Monday incorrectly said Pfizer has formally abandoned development of a class of
experimental cholesterol drugs.)
By Peter Loftus Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said it's still studying a class of experimental drugs with
potential to raise good cholesterol, but which also raised safety concerns. The
two compounds remain in Phase 1 of development and aren't being advanced for the
time being, a spokesman said Monday.
The two early-stage drugs are known as inhibitors of cholesteryl ester
transfer protein, or CETP. Last year, Pfizer halted late-stage development of
torcetrapib, also a CETP inhibitor, after a trial showed it was associated with
an increased risk of death. Torcetrapib's failure was a huge disappointment that
has contributed to a 7% year-to-date decline in Pfizer shares.
After torcetrapib's failure, Pfizer had left open the possibility that it
would still pursue two backup CETP compounds that were in early-stage
development. Pfizer noted these compounds weren't associated with increased
blood pressure, as torcetrapib was.
In an update of its research pipeline Monday, Pfizer said the two backup CETP
inhibitors were still in Phase 1 development and haven't been advanced to the
next phase.
Pfizer's head of research, John LaMattina, noted that clinical data released
in March showed that torcetrapib had no effect on arterial plaque buildup
despite boosting levels of good cholesterol.
"The fact we saw no change at all leads us to question the validity of the
CETP hypothesis in terms of being a beneficial treatment" for plaque buildup,
LaMattina told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.
Merck & Co. (MRK) and Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) have previously said they were
developing their own CETP inhibitors.
Pfizer also said Monday it substantially increased its number of midstage drug
development programs. Pfizer now has 47 programs in Phase 2, the largest in its
history and up from the mid-30s as of last December. Pfizer said the increase
would help it achieve its goal of tripling its late-stage, or Phase 3, pipeline
by 2009.
In late trading, Pfizer shares were up 17 cents at $24.28. |
