UPDATE 2-FibroGen's drug fails late-stage trial for treating lung disease
(Adds shares, details, background in paragraphs 3-4)
June 26 (Reuters) - FibroGen said on Monday its experimental drug pamrevlumab did not meet its main goal in a late-stage study for treating a chronic lung disease, and that it plans to implement a "significant cost reduction effort" in the U.S. to extend its cash runway into 2026.
Shares of the company plunged 74% in premarket trading.
Pamrevlumab was being tested for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which is characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in lung function.
It did not meet its main goal assessing the change in the total amount a person can exhale in a second, compared to a placebo.
Based on the study, the company said it would discontinue a second late-stage trial on the drug for treating IPF.
Results from the trial comes a few weeks after FibroGen said pamrevlumab also failed a study for treating certain forms of muscle-wasting disorder Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
(Reporting by Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
