Xenon’s lead in-house drug flops in a mid-stage test and stock plunges lower
Xenon Pharmaceuticals has another setback to report.
Twenty months after its drug TV-45070 failed a mid-stage osteoarthritis study in Teva’s hands, the Canadian biotech $XENE reports that its lead, wholly owned topical drug XEN801 flopped in a Phase II trial on acne.
Their drug — a topical stearoyl Co-A desaturase-1, or SCD1 inhibitor — failed both the primary and secondary endpoint in the study, which tracked lesions over 12 weeks compared to a placebo. CEO Simon Pimstone immediately turned to future catalysts for its other drugs, writing off the effort.
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