Biopharmaceutical company Pfizer has decided to discontinue the development of filibuvir, an experimental hepatitis C drug, following a strategic review and capital allocation.
The drug, which is in mid-stage clinical testing, is facing competition from new hepatitis C treatments developed by Gilead Sciences (GILD) and AbbVie (ABBV).
Pfizer spokeswoman Victoria Davis said, "We continue to prioritize our [research and development] capital allocation to drive the next wave of innovative medicines and vaccines that bring benefit to patients and value to health care systems around the world."
The move shows the rapid changes in the hepatitis C treatment field.
In recent years, Pfizer's drug was on roughly equal footing with other similar drugs in development throughout the industry.
But over the couple of years, competitors including Gilead and AbbVie have revealed the development phase of drugs displaying impressive cure rates and other potential advantages over current standard treatment in clinical trials.
Based on that Pfizer has cut down its R&D spending and constricted the focus of its research efforts to other therapeutic areas, including neuroscience and oncology.
Filibuvir, which is also known as PF-00868554, is a non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor, a class of drugs designed to help eradicate the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C is a liver-attacking virus estimated to infect up to 4 million Americans.
