Agios Pharmaceuticals is discontinuing development of its oral therapy candidate, tebapivat, for people with sickle cell disease (SCD).
The decision follows results from a small Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT06924970) showing that while tebapivat — an activator of the pyruvate kinase (PK) enzyme — reduced measures of red blood cell destruction in SCD patients, it did not offer enough advantages over other drugs in the same class to justify further development.
“These Phase 2 data further reinforce PK activation as a clinically validated mechanism in sickle cell disease, with tebapivat demonstrating [blood-related] activity consistent with this class of medicine,” Sarah Gheuens, MD, PhD, Agios’ chief medical officer and head of research and development, said in a company press release. “However, the results did not establish the level of differentiation we believe is necessary to support continued development.”