Sun Pharma Advanced Research Co. has told NDTV Profit that it expects no financial impact or need for fresh capital expenditure following the discontinuation of SCD-044 trials, with other pipeline assets poised to offset the setback.
SPARC said that the psoriasis and atopic dermatitis drug, SCD-044 or Vibozilimod, had been licenced to its parent company, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., which was “in a better position to share the forecast” for the drug.
“Nevertheless, the indications under development had unmet medical need in terms of safer oral agents which we were trying to plug,” the company said.
The decision to discontinue SCD-044 does not impact SPARC’s financials, it clarified. The company confirmed that all costs were accounted for in the P&L, adding there were no further financial implications to consider.
Looking ahead, SPARC highlighted multiple opportunities within its research pipeline. These include SBO-154, an oncology-focused asset that has received the green light from the United States Food and Drug Administration to start Phase 1 studies. SPARC plans to develop SBO-154 across “multiple oncology indications”.
The pipeline also features SCD-153, a new chemical entity for treating Alopecia Areata that has completed Phase 1a studies in healthy volunteers and received approval to begin Phase 1b trials in patients. Another oncology asset, SCO-155, is under a binding licensing agreement with Tiller Therapeutics.
SPARC is also working on PDP-716, a once-daily formulation of Brimonidine for glaucoma treatment. Licensed to Visiox Pharma, it is slated for resubmission of its New Drug Application with the USFDA during the financial year 2027. Similarly, SDN-037, a treatment for post-cataract surgery pain and inflammation, is expected to follow PDP-716 in the NDA pipeline.
Financially, SPARC said that the expected cash flow from licensing these assets “can more than offset the lost opportunity from Vibozilimod”. “We do not anticipate capex for current pipeline assets under development,” the company said suggesting a stable cash flow outlook for the near term.
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