Global Blood makes second sickle cell bet

Global Blood Therapeutics is upping its stake in sickle cell disease, but believes that there is room on the market for its new project inclacumab as well as its lead candidate, voxelotor. Perhaps inclacumab was too much of a bargain to resist – abandoned by Roche, it cost GBT just $2m up front. However, GBT’s stock sank 3% yesterday, perhaps on fears that the deal was a vote of no confidence for voxelotor. GBT plans to test the anti-P-selectin MAb in vaso-occlusive crises in sickle cell disease patients, making it a slightly different proposition to voxelotor, which the company plans to submit for accelerated approval in the wider sickle cell indication based on part A of the phase III Hope trial. Still, Hope did not find a significant improvement in vaso-occlusive crises, which might be one reason why GBT is hedging its bets. Roche had been studying inclacumab in coronary artery disease, but there is a rationale for evaluating the project in sickle cell disease: Novartis is studying a similarly acting candidate, crizanlizumab, in vaso-occlusive crises. Still, even if GBT benefits from its rival’s groundwork, inclacumab would likely be a distant second to market, especially as the company does not plan to file an IND until 2021.