Pfizer’s oral anticonvulsant Lyrica (pregabalin) has failed a phase III trial as a treatment for neuropathic pain in patients with diabetes.

Lyrica is licensed in the EU for treatment of anxiety, but in the US it is also approved for treatment of neuropathic pain, epileptic seizures and fibromyalgia.

The negative trial result is likely to discourage Pfizer’s attempts to widen the product’s use in Europe.

Pfizer has also ended an unsuccessful trial of Lyrica as a treatment for HIV-related neuropathy.

The diabetes study tested patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a complication affecting 20% of people with the disease.

Relative to placebo, Lyrica did not achieve the pain reduction specified as a trial endpoint. The HIV study had similar results.

Lyrica is a ‘blockbuster’ drug, with sales of over $3bn in 2010.

Its patent exclusivity will end in 2018, and Pfizer is seeking new indications to extend its lifespan.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Amira Pharmaceuticals in a deal which could be worth $475 million.

The agreement includes all of Amira’s issued and outstanding shares of capital stock and stock equivalents, plus two of its research programmes.

Bob Baltera, CEO of Amira Pharmaceuticals, says the takeover will place Amira in the “excellent hands” of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Amira Pharmaceuticals is a small-molecule pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and early development of new drugs to treat inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.

Its fibrosis programme includes the lead asset AM152 – an orally available lysophosphatidic acid 1 (LPA1) receptor antagonist which has completed Phase I clinical studies and is now poised for Phase IIa proof-of-confidence studies for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma.

BMS will also obtain the autotaxin program, which may be useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain and cancer metastases.

“The acquisition of Amira Pharmaceuticals represents the latest example of our String of Pearls strategy, a highly targeted set of transactions designed to enrich our innovative pipeline with potential medicines to help patients in need,” said Elliott Sigal, Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research and Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb has identified fibrotic diseases as an area of high unmet medical need that complements our research efforts in several of our therapeutic areas.”