GALAPAGOS NV/S ADR GLPG and Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD were advancing strongly Wednesday following the release of clinical trial data for their pipeline candidate filgotinib.
Galapagos shares were rallying 17.95 percent to $121.18 at the time of publication, while Gilead was up 2.66 percent at $74.15.
What Happened
Belgian pharma company Galapagos and partner Gilead Sciences announced that their JAK1 inhibitor filgotinib, which is being evaluated in a Phase 3 study dubbed "FINCH 2," achieved significantly higher American College of Rheumatology, or ACR, 20/50/70 percent responses when compared to a placebo in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and prior inadequate response to biologic agents.
"The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving an ACR20 response at week 12," the companies said.
Filgotinib was tested as a once-daily regimen in 100mg and 200mg doses.
The study also revealed that the pipeline candidate was generally well-tolerated.
Why It's Important
The fact that filgotinib demonstrated significantly improved clinical responses in the difficult-to-treat population bodes well for the results of the FINCH 1 and FINCH 3 trials, which are evaluating the candidate in other patient populations with rheumatoid arthritis.
What's Next
The companies said detailed findings from the FINCH 2 study will be presented at a future scientific conference.
Filgotinib is being evaluated by Galapagos and Gilead for other inflammatory indications such as psoriatic arthritis (Phase 2 EQUATOR Study), ulcerative colitis (Phase 3 SELECTION Study), ankylosing spondylitis (TORTUGA Study) and Crohn's disease (Phase 3 DIVERSITY Study).
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