Pfizer's Lyrica Fails to Treat Traumatic Neuropathic Pain
November 25 2015 - 10:10AM
Dow Jones News
Drug maker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that its drug Lyrica
didn't reduce pain any more than a placebo for those suffering from
chronic nerve pain caused by traumatic accidents or surgeries.
The drug, whose generic name is Pregabalin, is currently used to
treat pain from damaged nerves caused by diabetes, nerve pain
caused by shingles, certain types of seizures in people with
epilepsy and general anxiety disorder.
Pfizer said Lyrica didn't meet its primary efficacy endpoint for
the treatment of chronic post-traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain
in its Phase 3 clinical trial. Phase 3 trials are typically the
last major step a drug most go through before it is approved.
Earlier this week, Pfizer and Allergan PLC agreed to a $155
billion merger that would create the world's biggest drug maker.
The takeover, which is structured as a so-called inversion, allows
the combined company to use the lower corporate tax rate in
Ireland, where Allergan is based, instead of the higher rate
currently used by New York City-based Pfizer.
In September, Pfizer lost a U.K. court battle to protect its
exclusive use of Lyrica for nerve pain. Lyrica was originally
developed to treat general anxiety disorder and epilepsy. Pfizer
later discovered it was able to treat certain types of nerve pain.
Pfizer said there is currently no Food and Drug Administration
approved treatments for post-traumatic neuropathic pain.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2015 09:55 ET (14:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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