Lilly scraps two research assets, leaving few rivals behind

Apart from the disappointing first-quarter financials released by Lilly this morning – sales of key products Trulicity and Taltz underwhelmed, and revenue guidance was reined in – a couple of pipeline discontinuations caught the eye. Prexasertib, a Chk-1 inhibitor, and a PI3k/Mtor kinase inhibitor, presumably samotolisib, have been scrubbed from the mid-stage oncology pipeline, decisions that will not have escaped certain competitors’ notice. Abandoning samotolisib is not surprising, given the poor track record of similar agents. Broadly acting PI3k inhibitors have disappointed, and researchers have had little success with compounds that purport to hit other kinases or inhibit other parts of this signalling pathway. Pfizer seems to be the only company investing in any notable way in a PI3k/mTor asset, gedatolisib, though data are some way off. Meanwhile, the scrapping of prexasertib follows the exit of Roche from the Chk-1 mechanism last year. No reasons were given by either company, but this is not encouraging news for Sierra Oncology, which appears to own the only remaining clinical-stage asset in this space.