Valentis future in doubt after Phase IIb failure

Investors savaged shares of Valentis after the drug developer announced that a Phase IIb trial of its lead drug candidate failed to show any advantage over a placebo. Valentis says that it has no plans to continue work on VLTS 934 for peripheral arterial disease and announced that Valentis could be sold or merged with another biotech company. Valentis' shares plunged 79 percent in pre-market trading.

"The company has no plans for further development of the product and is assessing strategic opportunities, which include the sale or merger of the business, the sale of certain assets or other actions," said Benjamin F. McGraw III, Valentis chairman and CEO.

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