Schrödinger Discontinues Clinical Program After Two Patient Deaths

Schrödinger, Inc. (SDGR) announced on Thursday that it is discontinuing the clinical development program for SGR-2921, which was being evaluated in an early-stage study in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

The decision was made in light of two treatment-related deaths in the early-stage study, the company said. Schrödinger opined that developing the drug as a combination therapy would be difficult to pursue in light of the two deaths despite evidence of activity as a monotherapy.

Margaret Dugan, chief medical officer at Schrödinger, said, “Patient safety is our first priority, and in light of two treatment-related deaths in the Phase 1 dose-escalation study, we have made the decision to discontinue further development of SGR-2921. While disappointing given the early clinical activity observed, we believe this is the right decision for patients.”

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SDGR fell from ‘extremely bullish’ to ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘high’ levels. The stock is trading 4% lower in the pre-market session on Thursday.

Dugan said the company had hoped to advance the investigational drug for acute myeloid leukemia, a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, provided there are limited therapies available for the disease. The early-stage study was also supported by preclinical data, which suggested that SGR-2921 could ultimately be used in combination with standard-of-care agents, the company said.

SGR-2921 is a CDC7 inhibitor, meaning it is a drug that blocks the activity of the CDC7 kinase, a protein involved in DNA replication and cell cycle progression. CDC7 is often overexpressed in cancer cells, and its inhibition can lead to cell cycle arrest and programmed cell death of these cancer cells.

SDGR stock is up by 3% this year and by over 4% in the past 12 months.

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