Global Blood Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: GBT) shares plummeted Monday after the company reported discontinuation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis program.
The San Francisco-based company said the decision is based on results from three proof-of-concept studies including a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers called Basecamp and two Phase 2a studies in patients with IPF called GBT440-006 and ZEPHYR.
CEO Ted Love declared, “From the outset, we set a high bar for success in our IPF program. The results re-affirm our confidence in the mechanism of action of GBT440. However, the data from these proof-of-concept studies did not demonstrate sufficient overall clinical benefit to justify continuing the program.
“While we are disappointed that we didn’t meet our high bar for success, and we are disappointed that we will not be able to help the IPF community, we are grateful to the patients, healthy volunteers and healthcare professionals who participated in the trials and supported us in these efforts.”
GBT440 was generally well tolerated across all three studies, and no new safety signals emerged. In Basecamp, healthy volunteers who received GBT440 900 mg under hypoxic conditions demonstrated a statistically significant increase in oxygen saturation, confirming the mechanism of action of the drug in hypoxemia and demonstrating that GBT440 is a potent and effective hemoglobin modifier.
Global Blood Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to treat grievous blood-based disorders with significant unmet need.
Global shares neared the close on Monday down 40 cents, or 1.2%, to $32.15.
