A few years ago Tolerx would have been an unlikely company to appear in this report (External Source FierceBiotech , Tolerx, OCT 7, 2011, View Source [SID:1234501045]). Its monoclonal antibody for type 1 diabetes, called otelixizumab, helped the company land a rich pact in 2007 with GlaxoSmithKline worth $760 million. The deal included $70 million in upfront cash.

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The two parteners headed in to Phase III trials with high expectations. But those hopes were dashed when otelixizumab failed to hit the primary efficacy endpoint of change in C-peptide at month 12 in patients with new-onset type 1 diabetes. Layoffs followed in March and May of this year.

Sources told FierceBiotech in October that Tolerx was officially closing up shop after spending about a decade doing R&D on drugs for immune-related disorders. Tolerx was selling off its earlier-stage assets, sources said, and GSK had taken over development of otelixizumab.