Regulus Dumps Two Drugs, AstraZeneca Sends Back Another, Shares Fall
Summary
What’s more, British drugmaker AstraZeneca will terminate development of a drug, RG-125, for the liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, that it had licensed from Regulus as part of a 2012 collaboration.To that end, we recognize that we must be disciplined in our investment choices and focus our resources and capital on our most promising discovery and development programs, including the application of important development, regulatory and commercial considerations,” said CEO Jay Hagan, in a statement.The company is developing drugs that block certain microRNAs, small strands of RNA that control networks of genes.The suspension has held for a year, and in the meantime Regulus cut more than 30 percent of its workforce, overhauled its executive team—CEO Paul Grint, who in June 2015 had replaced founding CEO Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, resigned last month—and shifted its strategy.Regulus had been trying to show, with RG-101, that a single long-lasting microRNA drug can shorten the needed time for a regimen of hepatitis C pills.