Pfizer/Lilly Discontinue Tanezumab, The Likely End For A Class Dogged By Safety

 
• By Jessica Merrill
  
Generate a summary of this article
Listen to this article
Beta

The nerve growth factor inhibitor for osteoarthritis pain is one of the last still in development after safety largely sidetracked the class of drugs.

closed book
Pfizer and Lilly closed the book on tanezumab • Source: Alamy

The 15-year development road for a once high-profile drug – Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company's nerve growth factor inhibitor tanezumab – came to a quiet end. Lilly disclosed in its third quarter sales and earnings call on 26 October that the partners had discontinued development of tanezumab for osteoarthritis pain after receiving a complete response letter from the US Food and Drug Administration and a negative opinion by the European Medicine Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

The news spells the likely end for the class of drugs, which has shown promise as a novel approach to...

Scrip Podcast

Keep up with the top pharma business news of the week. On the go.

Scrip brings you a weekly bulletin of top picks.

SpotifyApple PodcastsWebsite

More from New Products

Scrip-NewProducts (Premium-2): Top 12 Pharma Companies: Pfizer Tops The Leaderboard Again

 
• By Nabil

The world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies mostly saw growth in 2024 but 2025 promises to be more of a mixed bag with headwinds including losses of exclusivity, Medicare Part D redesign and challenges in the Chinese market.

Innovent/GenFleet Score China’s First KRAS G12C Inhibitor Approval

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan

The nod will help unlock a national market for the partners’ Dupert (fulzerasib) in which roughly 50,000 people are expected to be newly diagnosed with lung cancer harboring the KRAS G12C mutation in 2025. Meanwhile, two other homegrown rivals are also closing in on marketing clearances in China.

Cagrisema Leads The Charge For 2025

 
• By Elizabeth Cairns

2030 sales forecasts for Novo’s obesity hope are an order of magnitude larger than its closest rival among 2025’s expected debutantes.  

Small But Mitey: Tarsus To Amp Up Strong Xdemvy Launch

 
• By Alexandra Shimmings

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is putting more sales and marketing heft behind its novel eyelid disease therapy, Xdemvy, to capitalize on a solid start in a previously untapped market.    

More from Scrip

EHA: Lilly’s Jaypirca Posts First Phase III Triplet Win In CLL While BTK Degraders Advance - Clone

Lilly's first Phase III triplet win opens the door to a label expansion in BTK-pretreated CLL, with analysts suggesting Jaypica could attain blockbuster status. However, the window to capitalize may be brief as next-generation BTK degraders close in with head-to-head trials.

Top 10 Drugs Q1 2026: New Sheriff In Town As Mounjaro Unseats Keytruda

Mounjaro, Eliquis, and Darzalex buck the Q1 trend to make gains