Verastem Falls on Halted Phase 2 Enrollment

By Chris Lange Published Sep 28, 8:55AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

To start off the week, Verastem Inc. (NASDAQ: VSTM) watched its shares take a beating on Monday morning surrounding an enrollment halt. The company announced that it has stopped enrollment in its Phase 2 study of VS-6063 for patients with mesothelioma. The decision to stop enrollment for futility followed a Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) review of a pre-planned interim analysis.

The results of the analysis demonstrated that VS-6063 had a generally well-tolerated safety profile but that there was not a sufficient level of efficacy to warrant continuation of the study.

Verastem is a company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by the targeted killing of cancer stem cells.

Lou Vaickus, M.D. FACP, interim chief medical officer, commented on the announcement:

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is among the most aggressive and lethal cancers with only one approved therapy. With the aggressiveness of this disease, the use of single agent VS-6063 as a maintenance treatment following chemotherapy where all patients had residual disease was not sufficient. There remains a significant unmet medical need for new treatment options for patients suffering from this very complex, difficult-to-treat cancer.

Robert Forrester, president and CEO of Verastem, added:

We have stopped further enrollment and initiated an orderly wind-down of the Command study. We are disappointed with the Command outcome, but we are deeply grateful for the support and commitment from the patients participating in the study, their families, and the study investigators. Based on these results, we will reevaluate our clinical priorities and direct our resources toward further development of VS-6063, VS-4718, and VS-5584.

So far 2015 has not been a good year for Verastem as shares have underperformed the market. Year to date, shares were down 38% before this drop.

Shares of Verastem closed Friday down 2.4%, at $5.67 in a 52-week trading range of $4.35 to $12.35. In early trading indications on Monday, shares were down 53% at $2.65. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $19.00.

ALSO READ: 10 Fresh Analyst Stock Picks Called to Rise 50% or More

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.