Synairgen’s failure to show an effect with SNG001 in hospitalised Covid patients is pretty emphatic. The Sprinter trial of the inhaled interferon beta-1a failed to hit its endpoints of reducing hospital discharge times and cutting severe illness or death. Shares in the UK company, which had been a big beneficiary of investor frenzy around potential pandemic treatments, plunged 85% in response. Synairgen tried to blame SNG001's shortcomings on improving standards of care, but the warnings signs were there. On top of questions around the phase 2 Covid data, which when initially released did not include a primary efficacy analysis, the project had previously failed in both asthma and COPD. Synairgen claimed a faint signal in preventing progression to severe disease and death, but this looks tenuous and would require further trials. True, the US NIH Activ-2 trial in home-based patients has yet to read out, but with effective oral antivirals already in this setting it is hard to see where a delayed SGN001 would fit into any treatment paradigm. With three failures now under its belt, and limited confidence in future clinical or financial success, it is little wonder Synairgen investors have fled.
| Not so fast: outcomes of the Sprinter trial | ||
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | Placebo + SOC (n=314) | SNG001 + SOC (n=309) |
| Median time to hospital discharge through day 28 | 8 days | 7 days |
| p=0.509 | ||
| Time to recovery* through day 28 | HR=1.02, p=0.888 | |
| Progression to severe disease or death within 35 days | 14.7% | 10.7% |
| Odds ratio=0.69, p=0.135 | ||
| Progression to intubation or death within 35 days | 7.3% | 6.5% |
| Odds ratio=0.85, p=0.610 | ||
| Death within 35 days | 5.4% | 4.5% |
| Odds ratio=0.79, p=0.544 | ||
| Note: data given for intent-to-treat analysis; *able to perform normal activities. Source: company announcement. | ||
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