Dead-end drugs show side effects.

• Author: Martin, Edward
• Position: TAR HEEL TATTLER

GlaxoSmithKline might have thought it was immune. The drug maker recently played bystander as several Research Triangle Park neighbors took a licking. First, tests indicated Inspire Pharmaceuticals' new ocular lubricant was no more a sight for sore eyes than a placebo. Then Biogen Idec, which made an acclaimed multiple sclerosis drug, revealed that three users had died of liver damage. In Durham, Icagen quit testing an experimental epilepsy drug because of safety concerns.

But only a few days after Biogen stopped sales of Tysabri, the federal Food and Drug Administration halted GSK's testing of its code-named 699 multiple sclerosis drug because it worked on a similar principle. "It was chemically different, but the FDA hit the pause button to figure out what happened to Tysabri," GSK spokeswoman Gaile Renegar says.

Traditionally, for every 10,000 chemical compounds tested, only one is approved for sale. The odds may be getting even longer. Experts blame heightened awareness of drug safety, a proliferation of new compounds and other factors for a rash of canceled or delayed drug launches.

Tar Heel drug makers could use a dose of the antidepressant Zoloft. The Triangle feels the pain more than most drug centers. It has giants like 6,000-employee GSK, which has one of its North American headquarters in RTP, as well as smaller companies such as Inspire, which typically work on...