Galapagos goes 0-for-3 on inflammation program as it cuts an early-stage candidate

Galapagos has cut anti-inflammatory drug candidate GLPG4399 following the completion of an early-stage healthy volunteer trial, according to its 2022 annual report released Thursday afternoon.

GLPG4399 was a SIK3 inhibitor, one in a line of such salt-inducible kinase (SIK) inhibitors that Galapagos has been trying to develop for inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Originally, the biotech had been planning to move the drug forward in a study with rheumatoid arthritis patients in the middle of this year, but now it’s halting the program and going back to search for new SIK inhibitors.

“Medicinal chemistry activities to identify SIK inhibitors with improved pharmacology continues,” Galapagos noted briefly in its press release.

Walid Abi-Saab

GLPG4399 was the third SIK inhibitor Galapagos brought out of the clinic — all part of a franchise Galapagos dubbed Toledo. The first candidate, GLPG3312, similarly only made it through healthy volunteer studies before Galapagos scrapped it. The second, GLPG3970, disappointed in Phase II trials in ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis, and though it showed some signs of efficacy in psoriasis, Galapagos opted to toss that candidate as well.

The small pipeline prune comes after Galapagos laid off 200 staffers and discontinued work on its fibrosis and kidney disease programs, cuts that followed a long string of setbacks at the biotech. In December, Galapagos also announced that its chief business officer André Hoekema and chief medical officer Walid Abi-Saab are retiring, though the latter is remaining with the company until the end of May.

Galapagos shares $GLPG fell almost 8% after the markets opened Friday. The biotech did not immediately return request for comment.

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