Tezspire Shows Promise in Chronic Rhinosinusitis Trial; Gilead Halts Trodelvy Lung Cancer Development

Key Insights

• AstraZeneca and Amgen's Tezspire significantly reduced nasal congestion and polyp size in a Phase 3 trial for chronic rhinosinusitis, potentially expanding its approved uses.
• Jazz Pharmaceuticals plans to initiate a new trial for JZP441, a narcolepsy treatment, despite previous visual disturbance and cardiovascular effect concerns.
• Gilead Sciences discontinues Trodelvy's development for second-line non-small cell lung cancer following unfavorable study results, incurring a $1.8 billion write-down.

AstraZeneca and Amgen's Tezspire demonstrated positive results in a Phase 3 trial for chronic rhinosinusitis, offering a potential new treatment option for this condition. Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences has decided to halt the development of Trodelvy for second-line non-small cell lung cancer after disappointing trial outcomes. Jazz Pharmaceuticals is moving forward with plans to re-evaluate JZP441, an experimental narcolepsy treatment, in a new clinical trial.

Tezspire Shows Efficacy in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Tezspire, developed by AstraZeneca and Amgen, achieved a statistically significant reduction in nasal congestion and the size of nasal polyps compared to placebo in a Phase 3 trial involving patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. These findings, announced by the companies, suggest that Tezspire could become a valuable treatment for this condition, potentially expanding its market beyond its current approval for asthma in the U.S. and other countries. The full data from the trial will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.

The success of Tezspire in this trial positions it to compete with GSK's depemokimab, which also recently demonstrated positive results in Phase 3 studies for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals to Re-evaluate Narcolepsy Drug JZP441

Jazz Pharmaceuticals intends to initiate an early-stage study in the first half of next year to further evaluate JZP441, an experimental treatment for narcolepsy. Previous trials were paused due to reports of visual disturbances and cardiovascular effects. JZP441 is designed to target orexins, proteins crucial for regulating wakefulness, arousal, hunger, and mood. Robert Iannone, Head of Research and Development at Jazz, stated that the new study will help determine whether to advance JZP441 and inform the company's backup programs.

Gilead Discontinues Trodelvy Development in Lung Cancer

Gilead Sciences has decided to discontinue the development of Trodelvy for second-line non-small cell lung cancer following discussions with regulators and negative results from a lung cancer study earlier this year. This decision will result in a $1.8 billion write-down in the value of Gilead's in-process R&D. Trodelvy remains approved for certain types of breast tumors, and Gilead will continue to develop it for first-line lung cancer.