NEW YORK -- Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday that it is ending development of two hepatitis C drugs after regulators told the biopharmaceutical company the drugs would remain on clinical hold.
Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based company fell in after-hours trading.
The two Idenix drugs, IDX184 and IDX19368, as well as another drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. called BMS-986094, work in similar ways. All three products are nucleotide inhibitors, meaning they are designed to prevent the hepatitis C virus from making copies of itself.
In August Bristol-Myers halted testing of BMS-986094 after one patient in the clinical trial died of heart failure following treatment. The drugmaker eventually abandoned development of the product.
Idenix has said there are important differences between the drugs, but the Food and Drug Administration placed IDX184 on clinical hold Aug. 16. At the time, it was Idenix's most advanced experimental drug. The FDA also had placed a hold on IDX19368, which hadn't begun patient dosing.
The company submitted cardiac safety data on IDX184 to the FDA in December, but said Monday it received word from the FDA this month that the programs for both IDX184 and IDX19368 would remain on hold.
Shares of the company slipped nearly 6 percent to $4.45 in after-hours trading, after giving up 13 cents, or 2.7 percent, to close at $4.73, during the regular session. The stock is down 42 percent in the past six months.
"Although we are choosing not to continue our IDX184 and IDX19368 programs, we intend to maintain our strong presence in developing nucleotide polymerase inhibitors for HCV (hepatitis C virus) based on our broad discovery platform," said Ron Renaud, Idenix's president and chief executive.
Hepatitis C is a virus that can lead to life-threatening liver damage and is the main cause of liver transplants in the U.S. The disease is spread through the blood, which can happen through sharing intravenous drug needles or having sex with an infected person. There are around 3 million Americans with the disease, which can go undetected for many years until the liver is severely damaged. More people are expected to be diagnosed as the baby boomer generation ages.
That group account for about two-thirds of the 3.2 million Americans thought to be infected.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100433177
February 4, 2013
Idenix Pharmaceuticals Provides Update on IDX184 and IDX19368 Development Programs
Management to Host a Conference Call and Webcast Today at 4:30 pm ET
ABOUT IDENIX
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION
Idenix will hold a conference call today at
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "expect," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "will," and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements, as are any expressed or implied statements with respect to: the Company's plans to continue to developing nucleotide polymerase inhibitors for HCV; its clinical development plans for its uridine nucleotide analog drug candidate and IDX719; its plans to advance other preclinical nucleotides; and statements regarding the efficacy and safety of its clinical compounds. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the following: there can be no guarantees that the Company will advance any clinical product candidate or other component of its potential pipeline to the clinic, to the regulatory process or to commercialization due to numerous risks inherent in pharmaceutical research and development; management's expectations could be affected by unexpected regulatory actions or delays; uncertainties relating to, or unsuccessful results of, preclinical and clinical trials, including additional data relating to the ongoing clinical trials evaluating its product candidates; the Company's ability to obtain additional funding required to conduct its research, development and commercialization activities; competition; and the Company's ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for its product candidates and its discoveries. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. These and other risks which may impact management's expectations are described in greater detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
All forward-looking statements reflect the Company's estimates only as of the date of this release (unless another date is indicated) and should not be relied upon as reflecting the Company's views, expectations or beliefs at any date subsequent to the date of this release. While Idenix may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, even if the Company's estimates change.
CONTACT: Idenix Pharmaceuticals Contacts:
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