AGN Allergan plc

Drug maker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that its drug Lyrica didn't reduce pain any more than a placebo for those suffering from chronic nerve pain caused by traumatic accidents or surgeries.

The drug, whose generic name is Pregabalin, is currently used to treat pain from damaged nerves caused by diabetes, nerve pain caused by shingles, certain types of seizures in people with epilepsy and general anxiety disorder.

Pfizer said Lyrica didn't meet its primary efficacy endpoint for the treatment of chronic post-traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain in its Phase 3 clinical trial. Phase 3 trials are typically the last major step a drug most go through before it is approved.

Earlier this week, Pfizer and Allergan PLC agreed to a $155 billion merger that would create the world's biggest drug maker. The takeover, which is structured as a so-called inversion, allows the combined company to use the lower corporate tax rate in Ireland, where Allergan is based, instead of the higher rate currently used by New York City-based Pfizer.

In September, Pfizer lost a U.K. court battle to protect its exclusive use of Lyrica for nerve pain. Lyrica was originally developed to treat general anxiety disorder and epilepsy. Pfizer later discovered it was able to treat certain types of nerve pain. Pfizer said there is currently no Food and Drug Administration approved treatments for post-traumatic neuropathic pain.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 25, 2015 09:55 ET (14:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.