Novacea, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVC) has ended its Phase III ASCENT-2 clinical trial of Asentar(TM) (DN-101). Unfortunately this is Novacea’s lead investigational cancer therapy for the treatment of patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer.
The trial halt is due to an imbalance of deaths between the two treatment arms, as observed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board for the clinical study. Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP) is Novacea’s partner on this candidate and both companies plan to fully analyze the clinical data resulting in higher death rates in the Asentar plus Taxotere treatment group.
The study was comparing the benefits of weekly Asentar plus Taxotere to the current standard of care in the treatment of androgen-independent prostate cancer. To date, more than 900 of the planned total of 1,200 patients were enrolled in this study at multiple centers in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, and Central Europe.
If you look at Novacea’s pipeline, you’ll see that Asentar is the bulk of the efforts. It’s going to be a long road ahead for the company.
Shares of Novacea (NOVC) are trading down 65% to $2.50 in pre-market activity. Friday’s close was $7.19 and the prior 52-week trading range was $5.60 to $17.25. Before the implosion, Novacea’s market cap was $169.19 million. Biotechs blowing results are rarely good, but when its a Phase II or Phase III and it is your lead candidate it is as bad as one can imagine.
Jon C. Ogg
November 5, 2007
The #1 Thing to Do Before You Claim Social Security (Sponsor)
Choosing the right (or wrong) time to claim Social Security can dramatically change your retirement. So, before making one of the biggest decisions of your financial life, it’s a smart idea to get an extra set of eyes on your complete financial situation.
A financial advisor can help you decide the right Social Security option for you and your family. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you optimize your Social Security outcomes.
Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!
By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.
By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.