UPDATE: UCB's drug candidate for lupus fails Phase III trial

28 July 2015

Belgian drugmaker UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) on Tuesday said its drug candidate for chronic autoimmune disease lupus, did not meet efficacy endpoints in Phase IIII trials. The company in a statement said the two Embody Phase III clinical studies for epratuzumab in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) did not meet their primary clinical efficacy endpoints in either dose in both studies.

UCB said the treatment response in patients who received epratuzumab in addition to standard therapy was not statistically significantly higher than those who received placebo in addition to standard therapy. The company's shares fell 3.5% to 67.08 euros on the disappointing news.

Iris Loew-Friedrich, chief medical officer and executive vice president, UCB said: “Today’s news does not alter UCB’s strategy as we remain committed to delivering value for patients living with lupus and other immunologic diseases.”

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