GSK's Darapladib Doesn't Meet Expectations

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline announced that its late-stage study of darapladib, a heart disease drug developed by the company, did not meet expectations. The phase three trial of the drug tested 15,828 patients with heart disease by giving them darapladib or a placebo. The study found that patients taking the darapladib drug were not any less likely to suffer a serious cardiovascular event, like a stroke or a heart attack.

Dr. Harvey White, who co-chaired the study, admitted that the drug did not reach its initial goals. “In the STABILITY study, the lack of effect on stroke was disappointing but not unexpected given the emerging epidemiology data. While the study didn’t meet its primary endpoint, the effects of darapladib on the reduction of coronary events are of potential interest. These findings take us a step further towards defining which patients may benefit from treatment with darapladib,” said White.

Initial results for this trial were reported in November. At one point, investors believed that darapladib was one of the most promising drugs in the pipeline for GSK. The company paid $3 billion in 2012 to acquire the rights to the drug, along with the drug’s original developer Human Genome Sciences Inc. GSK still plans to have another late-stage clinical study for the darapladib drug, testing it on patients suffering from acute coronary syndrome.