Stock Watch: Pharma Castoffs Sink Without A Trace … Eventually

In 2006 I was almost convinced that the small biotech company Adherex Technologies, Inc. might do a better job with the drug eniluracil than GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK). Eniluracil is an inhibitor of 5-flurouricil (5-FU) metabolism that GSK studied in combination with 5-FU in two Phase III oncology trials that unfortunately demonstrated inferiority to 5-FU alone. On the plus side, Adherex was funded by two blue-chip VC investors, GSK retained buy-back rights and a logical reason for the previous failures was an inflexible fixed dose combination. However, in 2007, Adherex bought-out GSK’s option for $1m and although its Phase III study was scheduled to start the same year, eniluracil has instead been licensed on to a succession of partners and its clinical utility remains to be established. (Also see "Adherex Eniluracil Phase III To Start Mid ’07; Firm Outlines Fixes For Failed GSK Trials" - Pink Sheet, 15 December, 2005.)

There are many other cases where a drug has been shelved by big pharma only for another (usually biotech) company...