Johnson & Johnson Terminates Experimental Eczema Drug Study After It Fails To Show Benefit

The company said that the drug did not achieve the “high-bar" efficacy targets in a planned interim analysis.

• The drug JNJ-5939 was being evaluated in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in a mid-stage study.
• JNJ, however, committed to progressing its remaining pipeline of candidates for atopic dermatitis.
• Johnson & Johnson is developing several potential therapies for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, including NM26, PX128, PX130 and KP-723.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said on Friday that it is terminating its experimental drug study in the treatment atopic dermatitis due to lack of clinical benefit.

The drug JNJ-5939 was being evaluated in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in a mid-stage study. Atopic dermatitis (AD), commonly called eczema, is a chronic, non-contagious inflammatory skin condition causing intense itching, redness, dryness, and cracking.

The company said that the drug did not achieve the “high-bar” efficacy targets in a planned interim analysis. The drug was, however, well tolerated in the study, the company said.

Other Eczema Candidates

JNJ committed to progressing its remaining pipeline of candidates for atopic dermatitis on Friday, highlighting that the condition impacts over 100 million people worldwide.

Johnson & Johnson is developing several potential therapies for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, including NM26, PX128, PX130 and KP-723. J&J bought the global rights to NM26 from Numab Therapeutics for over $1 billion and acquired PX128 and PX130 through the purchase of Proteologix, both in 2024. KP-723, meanwhile, was developed by Kaken Pharmaceutical and licensed by JNJ in late 204.

The company does not currently have an FDA-approved drug specifically for eczema on the market.

Other Discontinued Trials This Year

The discontinued eczema study now joins a longer list of study terminations from JNJ this year. At the onset of 2025, JNJ and partner Sanofi discontinued its E.coli vaccine trial after a study review showed that the vaccine candidate was not sufficiently effective at preventing the E.coli disease compared to placebo.

In March, the company discontinued a late-stage program evaluating Aticaprant as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder due to insufficient efficacy in the target patient population. More recently, in November, the company discontinued the trial of Posdinemab in early Alzheimer’s disease after the experimental drug failed to achieve statistical significance in slowing clinical decline.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around JNJ fell from ‘neutral’ to ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘low’ levels.

JNJ stock has gained 43% this year and about 42% over the past 12 months. 

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