J&J discontinues Phase 2 study for bladder cancer drug TAR-200

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said it has discontinued a Phase 2 study of its drug TAR-200 for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, or MIBC, due to disappointing data.

The drugmaker had been testing the drug in patients with MIBC who were not receiving a radical cystectomy. The study, called SunRISe-2, was discontinued after an interim analysis of the data showed the treatment was not showing superiority over chemoradiation.

J&J said in a statement that it still plans to file for FDA approval of TAR-200 as a monotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in early 2025.

“We remain confident in the TARIS platform having $5B+ potential,” it added.

J&J acquired the TARIS platform through its acquisition of TARIS Biomedical in 2019. TAR-200 was TARIS’s lead clinical asset.