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News
A promising cancer drug partnership hits a dead end. Foghorn Therapeutics is discontinuing FHD-909, its experimental cancer drug developed with Eli Lilly, after it failed to show sufficient benefit in an early-stage trial. The biotech will cut 40% of its workforce and its shares tumbled over 48% in premarket trading.
A promising cancer drug partnership hits a dead end. Foghorn Therapeutics is pulling the plug on FHD-909, its experimental cancer drug co-developed with Eli Lilly, after the drug failed to demonstrate enough effectiveness in an early-stage trial. The two companies will not renew their 2021 partnership — originally valued at up to $1.6 billion — and will also shut down a separate program targeting SMARCA2, a protein that some cancer cells rely on to survive.
FHD-909 was designed to treat lung and other solid tumors driven by mutations in the SMARCA4 gene. While the drug was deemed generally safe, its novel mechanism simply didn't deliver the clinical effectiveness needed to move forward.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: This setback highlights the high-stakes nature of early oncology drug development, where even well-funded partnerships can unravel at the clinical stage. Foghorn will now redirect its focus toward treatments for blood cancer, prostate cancer, hormone-sensitive breast cancer, and an oral drug for inflammatory diseases.
