Galapagos Flies As Filgotinib Soars In FINCH Studies

31 Mar 2019

More evidence of its strong safety profile suggests that the Belgian biotech's oral selective JAK1 inhibitor partnered with Gilead will be able to break into the crowded RA market.

Birds — Finches 1,2 and 3 have been clinical successes • Source: Shutterstock

The JAK inhibitor class is getting crowded but new data from two high-profile rheumatoid arthritis trials on Galapagos NV and Gilead Sciences Inc.'s filgotinib suggest their drug can compete, especially as its safety profile appears superior to rival therapies.

The companies have reported headline results from the FINCH 1 and FINCH 3 trials which showed that filgotinib, an oral...