Gilead ends late-stage trial of blood cancer treatment

Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc.
GILD,
+0.88%
dropped nearly 2% in the extended session Friday after the pharma company said it has ended a late-stage trial of a treatment for a rare type of blood cancer after an analysis. “The health and well-being of patients are our top priorities and while this is disappointing news it confirms the challenges of treating [higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes,] where no new class of treatments have been approved in nearly 20 years,” Gilead’s Chief Medical Officer Merdad Parsey said in a statement. One of the treatments involved, magrolimab, is a potential immunotherapy with a clinical development program spanning ten potential indications for cancers, including ongoing trials in solid tumors and two trials in certain types of leukemia, Gilead said. Shares of Gilead ended the regular trading day up 0.9%.