BRIEF—AstraZeneca drops brazikumab development program

Citing an unfavorable competitive landscape for the product, AstraZeneca today announced the discontinuation of the brazikumab inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) development program, an anti-interleukin (IL)-23 monoclonal antibody, being investigated for the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).

The IBD development program for brazikumab included the Phase IIb/III INTREPID trial in CD and the Phase II EXPEDITION trial in UC, and their respective open-label extension trials.

AstraZeneca explained that the decision to discontinue brazikumab’s IBD development follows a recent review of brazikumab’s development timeline and the context of a competitive landscape that has continued to evolve. The timeline was impacted by delays that could not be mitigated following global events. No safety concerns were identified for patients in these trials.

Financial considerations

Under an agreement from 2020, AbbVie contributed to ongoing funding of the development program but this funding will now cease.

AbbVie divested brazikumab rights back to AstraZeneca in 2020, in line with requirement for regulatory approval of its $63 billion acquisition of Ireland-incorporated Allergan. The latter has licensed rights to the drug to AstraZeneca in 2016, under a potential $1.27 billion deal.

AbbVie has its own very successful in Rinvoq (upadacitinib), which along with other approved therapy indications, was recently cleared for the Crohn’s indication and is expected to achieve peak sales of $7.5 billion