"While argenx has been able to demonstrate the merit of its FcRn drug Vyvgart in multiple autoimmune indications, not every shot in the clinic is destined to land.
Now, facing that fact in thyroid eye disease (TED), argenx is walking away from a set of trials.
Argenx is discontinuing its late-stage UplighTED studies of subcutaneous efgartigimod in adults with moderate to severe TED, the Dutch biopharma announced Monday. Efgartigimod is the generic name for Vyvgart, which is approved both as an infusion and as an injectable under the brand name Vyvgart Hytrulo, with the latter being the format tested in argenx’s study.
The drugmaker is calling it quits on the Vyvgart Hytrulo TED program following a recommendation from an independent data monitoring committee, which urged argenx to stop the trials for futility after reviewing data at a preset interim analysis.
There was a small silver lining insofar as Vyvgart Hytrulo’s safety and tolerability looked favorable in the trials, with no new safety flags cropping up, argenx pointed out. The company’s stock was down more than 5% in morning trading Dec. 15.
The futility evaluation came at the studies’ 24-week mark, argenx explained. The company says it plans to parse through the data, once available, so it can better understand the “studies’ outcome and uncover key biological insights that may inform future research in TED.”
The company noted that it will share the results at an upcoming medical meeting, as well.
