Anthera 'shoves' for Phase III in SLE after Phase IIb fails
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Announcing that the Phase IIb trial of its systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) treatment, blisibimod (previously A-623) had failed to meet its primary endpoint, Anthera said it would continue with a "much smaller yet differentiated" Phase III programme for the drug. Like a poker player trying to stay in the game by betting big on what may turn out to be a weak hand, Anthera wants to move to Phase III using only the highest dose of blisibimod, a dose for which positive trends were seen amongst the most severely affected SLE patients in the Phase IIb study.