Is This the Beginning of the End of Opexa?

Opexa Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA) shares were in free fall Friday morning after the company reported results from its mid-stage trial for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. The company said that its Phase 2b Abili-T clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tcelna did not meet its primary endpoint of reduction in brain volume change (atrophy), nor the secondary endpoint for the reduction of the rate of sustained disease progression.

Patients in the Tcelna arm of the study received two annual courses of Tcelna treatment consisting of five subcutaneous injections per year.

For some background: Opexa Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing personalized immunotherapies based on ImmPath, its proprietary T-cell technology, with the potential to treat autoimmune diseases. Opexa’s staff of cell therapy experts operates in a stand-alone facility located in Texas.

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Neil K. Warma, president and CEO of Opexa, commented:

We are disappointed that Tcelna did not meet the predefined endpoints in the Abili-T trial. We will evaluate the full data set over the coming weeks and review cash preservation options while we consider the best path forward for the company.

Excluding Friday’s move, Opexa had actually outperformed the market, with the stock up almost 23% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock was up 14%.

Shares of Opexa were last seen down over 60% at $1.30, with a consensus analyst price target of $9.33 and a 52-week trading range of $1.15 to $5.10.

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