Biotech Human Genome's Plan B: Lupus Drug
03/11/09 - 11:30 AM EDT
, HGSI , GSK , LJPC , BMRN , DNA Adam Feuerstein
With shares of Human Genome Sciences(HGSI Quote - Cramer on HGSI - Stock Picks) at an all-time low, the company's next shot at a turnaround lies with a risky phase III study of a lupus drug due in July.
More on HGSI Human Genome's Albuferon Cures Nearly Half of CasesFour Must-See Charts of the DayBristol-Myers to Buy Rights to Hep C DrugBiotech Confab: First Look at Today's NewsBiotech Mailbag: Who Will Run FDA? Market Activity BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc| BMRN DOWNGenentech Inc| DNA UPGlaxoSmithKline PLC| GSK DOWNThe Bethesda, Md.-based biopharmaceutical firm released disappointing results from a phase III study of its hepatitis C drug Albuferon on Monday, which caused the stock price to fall 67% to 55 cents a share and remain near that level Wednesday.
Analysts who follow Human Genome Sciences say the setback with Albuferon raises the stakes for the company's other late-stage drug candidate, LymphoStat-B. Two phase III studies of LymphoStat-B in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, are under way, with data from the first study expected in July.
Human Genome Sciences is developing LymphoStat-B in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline(GSK Quote - Cramer on GSK - Stock Picks).
There are no approved drugs to treat SLE, or lupus, although steroids are commonly used to treat symptoms. Recently, a drug from La Jolla Pharmaceuticals(LJPC Quote - Cramer on LJPC - Stock Picks) and BioMarin Pharmaceuticals(BMRN Quote - Cramer on BMRN - Stock Picks) was a failure in a phase III study of lupus patients. Rituxan, an otherwise wildly successful cancer and autoimmune drug for Genentech(DNA Quote - Cramer on DNA - Stock Picks), also failed a phase III lupus study last year. A second Rituxan study in lupus is under way.
Lupus is a chronic disease in which the body's immune system attacks connective tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage, often to the heart, joints, lungs and kidneys. Women are more often diagnosed with lupus than men, and the disease goes through periods where it flares up then goes into remission.
LymphoStat-B is a human monoclonal antibody designed to recognize and tamp down the biological activity of B-lymphocyte stimulator, or BLyS, a substance that was discovered by Human Genome Sciences.
