Yesterday, ZymoGenetics Inc (ZGEN) announced that its rheumatoid arthritis drug Atacicept, failed to reach its goal of controlling the disease in mid-stage studies. The data did not support a direct move to late-stage trials. However, the study confirmed the biological effect of Atacicept, and did not display any unexpected side effects. Atacicept is being developed in collaboration with Merck Serono S.A. (formerly Serono S.A.), an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.  Under this agreement, ZymoGenetics will co-promote Atacicept with Merck Serono in the US, while Merck Serono will promote Atacicept ex-US. In view of the disappointing results, Merck Serono has not decided whether the late-stage trials will be conducted. Atacicept is also being developed for other indications such as lupus and multiple sclerosis. As a reminder, Recombinant human thrombin (rhThrombin, Recothrom) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 17, ...