Biogen and Ionis abandon ALS drug after disappointing early-stage trial

Bio­gen and Io­n­is are drop­ping an ex­per­i­men­tal treat­ment for amy­otroph­ic lat­er­al scle­ro­sis, or ALS, a neu­rode­gen­er­a­tive dis­ease in which peo­ple lose mus­cle con­trol over time.

The de­ci­sion was based on bio­mark­er re­sults from a Phase 1/2 study called AL­Spire, which en­rolled 99 adults with ALS. The treat­ment, la­beled BI­IB105, al­so did not im­prove mea­sures of func­tion, breath­ing and strength, Bio­gen and Io­n­is said Thurs­day in a press re­lease.

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