Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that its investigational selective NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor, VX-993, failed to best placebo in a phase 2 trial.
VX-993 — intended as a follow-on to Vertex’s non-opioid pain signal inhibitor, Journavx, approved earlier this year — was evaluated in acute pain after bunionectomy surgery.
Treatment in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-ranging study didn’t result in a statistically significant improvement on the primary endpoint of the ‘Sum of the Pain Intensity Difference from 0 to 48 hours’ compared to placebo.
Based on these results, Vertex will not progress VX-993 into pivotal development as monotherapy in acute pain.