Why Eagle Pharma Shares Are in Free Fall

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 11:47AM EST · Published Mar 18, 10:10AM EDT

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Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EGRX) shares were in free fall early Friday following a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting more information. The company announced that it has received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA for its Kangio (bivalirudin injection), 505(b) New Drug Application (NDA) for a ready-to-use (RTU), stable liquid intravenous formulation of bivalirudin intended for use as an anticoagulant in patients.

Along with this FDA decision, 24/7 Wall St. has listed five key FDA decisions expected by the end of March, as well as an additional four more FDA decisions also expected this month.

The patients are undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, undergoing PCI with, or at risk of, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis syndrome, and/or with unstable angina undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

It is worth noting that the FDA issues Complete Response Letters to communicate that their initial review of an application is complete. At the same time, the FDA cannot approve the application in its present form and requests additional information.
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In its letter to Eagle, the FDA requested further characterization of bivalirudin-related substances in the drug product. Eagle will work directly with the FDA to determine an appropriate path forward to address the comments.

Scott Tarriff, president and CEO of Eagle, commented:

We are evaluating the FDA’s response and will work closely with the agency to better understand and address their comments regarding Kangio. We remain committed to Kangio as an important new formulation of bivalirudin for intravenous use, offering multiple benefits for patients and care givers.

So far in 2016, Eagle has underperformed the broad markets, with the stock down about 40% (prior to Friday’s move). Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is actually up about 27%.

Shares of Eagle Pharma were down 21.8% to $41.95 Friday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $99.50 and a 52-week trading range of $36.75 to $104.17.

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.