Gilead Sciences announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter (CRL) for the New Drug Application (NDA) for filgotinib, an investigational treatment for moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The FDA has requested data from the MANTA and MANTA-RAy studies before completing its review of the NDA. The MANTA and MANTA-RAy studies are designed to assess whether filgotinib has an impact on sperm parameters. The FDA also has expressed concerns regarding the overall benefit/risk profile of the filgotinib 200 mg dose.

“We are disappointed in this outcome and will evaluate the points raised in the CRL for discussion with the FDA. We continue to believe in the benefit/risk profile of filgotinib in RA, which has been demonstrated in the FINCH Phase 3 clinical program,” said Merdad Parsey, Chief Medical Officer, Gilead Sciences.