CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported Friday that its midstage study for experimental drug ALN-RSV01 met its main goal and reduced levels of the respiratory syncytial virus, a highly contagious virus that causes infections in the respiratory tract.
The stock fell, however, as some analysts questioned the drug's true potential effectiveness in a real-world scenario, because patients in the trial took the drug before becoming sick.
ALN-RSV01 is an RNA-interference (RNAi) drug, a class of drugs designed to treat illnesses by shutting off the genes that cause them.
The company claimed ALN-RSV01 is the first RNAi drug to show effectiveness in humans.
The Phase II clinical trial of ALN-RSV01 showed "statistically significant" effectiveness, with about a 40 percent reduction in RSV infection rate. Alnylam also said the drug showed an increase in the number of subjects who remained free of infection.
The drug was safe and well-tolerated, the company said.
In an interview with AP, Needham & Co. analyst Alan Carr highlighted potential challenges for the drug in light of the study's design.
He said that while the results were positive, people in the trial were given the drug before they were infected with the virus, meaning the results fail to show a "real-world" scenario.
The numbers were slightly disappointing with respect to viral load and symptom reduction, said Carr, and left him wondering how the drug would work in patients who don't take the drug before infection.
Caris & Co. analyst Douglas Chow told the AP he viewed the results as positive but said the drug still has a long way to go.
"The company will still need further studies before the drug gets commercialized and there are still many questions that remain unanswered," Chow said.
He said the stock also likely fell because some investors may have expected the company to release more trial data.
Alnylam's stock fell 92 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $29 in midday trading, as the broader market declined Friday.
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