A top pick in Paul Hudson's campaign to revive the pipeline at Sanofi blows up in PhIII
One of Paul Hudson’s picks for Sanofi’s pipeline has gone down in defeat in a Phase III trial.
Rilzabrutinib, the number 2 BTK inhibitor plucked in Sanofi’s $3.7 billion Principia buyout, flunked a trial for pemphigus, failing to outperform a placebo in spurring a complete remission of the skin lesions caused by the disease.
While some analysts pegged a potential blockbuster return for rilzabrutinib, short sellers like Sahm Adrangi at Kerrisdale Capital had mocked the drug while it was in Principia’s hands, pointing to a long line of losers among BTK inhibitors that were being tested in immunology. The short play fizzled, but this failure should offer some consolation to the researchers who came up with the thesis.
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