J&J takes a $630M asset hit on the books, shuttering PhIIb trials as its $1.75B RSV drug teeters on the brink
Almost exactly 4 years after J&J paid $1.75 billion for a little biotech called Alios, one of the central drugs featured in the deal appears to be in deep trouble. Researchers at the company voluntarily suspended advanced trials on the drug months ago and now the pharma giant is taking a heavy hit on the books as it reassesses the drug’s fast-dwindling asset value.
The pharma giant revealed in an SEC filing that it is taking an after-tax impairment charge of about $630 million on AL-8176 — lumicitabine — an anti-RSV drug designed to prevent a common respiratory infection in children. And it adds that it will keep an eye out on the rest of the $900 million still on the books, suggesting they may have a complete write-off on their hands.
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