STAT+: Vertex next-generation pain candidate fails Phase 2 trial
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals said Monday afternoon that its next-generation non-opioid pain reliever failed to significantly outperform placebo in a Phase 2 trial.<\/p>\n
The experimental drug, codenamed VX-993, is similar to the company\u2019s recently approved pill Journavx<\/a> but could potentially be given at higher doses and formulated as an IV infusion. The hope is that it could thus provide superior relief or offer an alternative to IV opioids. But after Monday\u2019s results, the company said it would discontinue efforts to develop the drug as a single-agent medicine for acute pain.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not plan to advance VX-993 as monotherapy in acute pain, because we do not expect that it will be superior to our [existing] NaV1.8 inhibitors,\u201d said CEO Reshma Kewalramani during a Monday afternoon earnings call with investors, using a scientific shorthand for the class of drugs. She noted that the company will continue a trial testing the drug in patients with diabetes who have chronic nerve pain.<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n