Why Gilead, Galapagos Shares Are Trading Higher

GALAPAGOS NV/S ADR (NASDAQ:GLPG) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) were advancing strongly Wednesday following the release of clinical trial data for their pipeline candidate filgotinib.

Galapagos shares were rallying 17.95 percent to $121.18 at the time of publication, while Gilead was up 2.66 percent at $74.15. 

What Happened

"The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving an ACR20 response at week 12," the companies said.

Filgotinib was tested as a once-daily regimen in 100mg and 200mg doses.

The study also revealed that the pipeline candidate was generally well-tolerated.

Why It's Important

The fact that filgotinib demonstrated significantly improved clinical responses in the difficult-to-treat population bodes well for the results of the FINCH 1 and FINCH 3 trials, which are evaluating the candidate in other patient populations with rheumatoid arthritis.

What's Next

The companies said detailed findings from the FINCH 2 study will be presented at a future scientific conference.

Filgotinib is being evaluated by Galapagos and Gilead for other inflammatory indications such as psoriatic arthritis (Phase 2 EQUATOR Study), ulcerative colitis (Phase 3 SELECTION Study), ankylosing spondylitis (TORTUGA Study) and Crohn's disease (Phase 3 DIVERSITY Study).

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