Durect looks ahead to liver indications after Phase IIa miss in psoriasis

Although the failure of topical DUR-928 in a Phase IIa psoriasis trial vaporized more than a quarter of Durect’s market cap on Thursday, the company is pressing on with clinical studies of injectable and oral versions of the therapy to treat alcoholic hepatitis and NASH.

Durect Corp. (NASDAQ:DRRX) said DUR-928, the lead candidate among the company’s epigenetic regulators, failed to show a benefit vs. placebo on the study’s primary endpoint measuring Investigator’s Global Assessment among 22 psoriasis patients who applied the study drug to one arm and vehicle to the other for 28 days. Durect will no longer develop the topical formulation for psoriasis...