Anaptysbio flakes out after etokimab flop

The most surprising thing about today’s failure of Anaptysbio’s lead asset, etokimab, is that investors were surprised. The group’s stock plummeted 72% this morning on the news that the anti-IL33 MAb had flunked the phase IIb Atlas study in atopic dermatitis, despite several red flags. For one, Anaptysbio started the study after testing the project in just 12 patients in phase IIa. There were also questions about IL-33 as a target after Sanofi/Regeneron’s REGN3500 recently failed to outperform Dupixent in asthma. This raised doubts about whether etokimab would be able to compete in a crowded sector, but this is now a moot point: Atlas failed to show any benefit with the project versus placebo. Today’s main winner is Dermira, which rose 22% on etokimab’s failure: that company’s IL-13-targeting agent, lebrikizumab, recently went into phase III in atopic dermatitis. Etokimab looks dead in the water but nasal polyp data, due in the first quarter, might allow Anaptysbio to drag things out for a bit longer. Perhaps the company will have better luck with its oncology pipeline, partnered with Glaxosmithkline; however, the most advanced project here, the PD-1 inhibitor dostarlimab, is hardly novel.