Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN) terminated development of VTP-43742 to treat psoriasis due to safety signals in a Phase II study, EVP and Chief R&D Officer C. David Nicholson said on the company's 1Q18 earnings call. The candidate is an oral small molecule inhibitor of RAR-related orphan receptor C thymus-specific isoform (RORgammaT; RORgamma2).
Allergan gained VTP-43742 when it acquired Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2016 for about $639 million (see BioCentury, Oct. 10, 2016).
Nicholson said the company still sees RORgammaT as a valid target, adding that the company is "exploring alternative formulations and indications." With regard to the safety signal, Nicholson said there were "concerns at different doses of the compound."
For the quarter, Allergan reported non-GAAP EPS of $3.74 on revenues of $3.7 billion, beating consensus estimates of $3.35 and $3.6 billion, respectively. In 1Q17, Allergan reported non-GAAP EPS of $3.35 on revenues of $3.6 billion.
Allergan slipped $8.39 to $153.65 on Monday, shedding about $2.7 billion in market cap.