John Connolly has a new mission to tack on to his role at the Parker Institute: interim chief of a buzzy biotech backed by a pair of billionaires -…

Five years after Gilead plunked down $725 million in cash to partner with Galapagos on filgotinib, new CEO Dan ODay has opted to shelve the rheumatoid arthritis program and all but a much smaller piece of the old development plan in the US. The big biotech said Tuesday afternoon that the FDA had erected a high barrier for this drug, which they couldnt see a way around or over.

As far as Gilead is concerned, the only commercially viable dose for this drug is 200 mg, and thats not going to fly at the FDA, where they say regulators made clear in a Type A meeting that they would need to complete substantial additional clinical studies. Why? Regulatory concerns over testicular toxicity are running high for this drug, which had aimed to be the fourth JAK inhibitor on the US market.

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John Connolly has a new mission to tack on to his role at the Parker Institute: interim chief of a buzzy biotech backed by a pair of billionaires -...