Genaera abandons two studies in pipeline switch

Genaera has changed gears on its pipeline strategy after shuttering two mid-stage studies--one for Lomucin as a therapy for cystic fibrosis and the other for squalamine to treat prostate cancer. The Lomucin study was abandoned for "reasons of futility" while squalamine was shelved due to trouble restarting the cancer trial. Genaera will now focus on trodusquemine for obesity and the anti-IL-9 asthma program licensed to MedImmune.

"We continue to be very encouraged by the progress of the MEDI-528 Phase II program in asthma," said CEO Jack Armstrong. "This is an asset that is below the radar screen of many, and we believe has greater present and future value than is currently recognized by the market. Separately, our trodusquemine Phase 1 study in obesity is progressing nicely through the initial cohorts in Study 101 to test safety and PK.

- see the release [1]
- check out the AP report [2]

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