Riquent failure hits La Jolla hard
This article was originally published in Pharmaceutical Approvals Monthly
Executive Summary
Negative results from La Jolla's Riquent (abetimus) Phase III interim efficacy analysis, which have derailed development of the compound, are also causing the firm to substantially reduce personnel and other operating expenses while it considers strategic options, including winding down the business or selling the company. On Feb. 12, just weeks after La Jolla sold an option to license rights for the lupus nephritis therapy to BioMarin, an independent data monitoring board taking a scheduled peek at the ASPEN data said the trial had no chance of showing efficacy. Riquent is La Jolla's only clinical-stage compound 1(Pharmaceutical Approvals Monthly January 2009, p. 22).