Bayer hits road block on study aimed at getting additional indication for riociguat

12 May 2016

Shares of German pharma major Bayer (BAYN: DE) fell a significant 5.35% to 94.65 euros, after the company said that it was halting a mid-stage study with riociguat, putting paid to hopes of an expanded indication for the drug.

Following the recommendation of an independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC), Bayer is terminating its Phase II study investigating riociguat in patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (PH-IIP) (NCT02138825) with immediate effect.

Riociguat, licensed in the USA under the trade name Adempas, is a stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) and is the only treatment approved in the USA for use in two types of pulmonary hypertension (WHO Groups 1 and 4). Bayer sees the drug as one of its potential growth products for the near future. It is also approved in Europe and Japan.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK