Chemocentryx’s future in doubt as avacopan foundation crumbles

After Friday’s split adcom vote on Chemocentryx’s avacopan in ANCA-associated vasculitis, even the sellside seems to have given up on the project’s prospects of approval. And a glance at the group’s pipeline shows little else to get excited about. Avacopan’s chances in hidradenitis suppurativa and C3 glomerulopathy look like a long shot after mid-stage failures last year; Chemocentryx also has plans in lupus, historically a graveyard for biopharma. And any future successes might be tempered by concerns raised by the FDA about avacopan’s liver toxicity. So what next for Chemocentryx? The company did not mention its phase 1 asset CCX507 in its latest earnings release, focusing instead on the preclinical oral checkpoint inhibitor CCX559; however, others like Curis have been working on oral projects for some time now with little progress. Even if Chemocentryx prevails here the PD-(L)1 field is crowded, and bigger players are already developing more convenient options, such as Pfizer with its subcutaneous asset sasanlimab. Chemocentryx’s share price plunged 62% on Friday but, with a valuation still well above its $424m cash balance, there are some hopes that the group can pull a rabbit out of the hat.