Pfizer uncouples from GlycoMimetics and its failed sickle cell disease drug

Once largely overlooked, sickle cell disease (SCD) has recently seen a flurry of approvals. For Pfizer — an SCD drug that has faltered in the pivotal stage of development — certainly doesn’t pass muster, not in this market. On Monday, the 170-year-old company severed ties with Maryland-based GlycoMimetics, walking away from the alliance the two entered into nearly a decade ago.