Shares of Northfield Laboratories were hammered this morning after researchers announced there were more deaths among patients using its experimental blood substitute than in a control group which didn't receive the substitute. Bottom line: There was no statistically significant difference in results between the Polyheme group and a control group, missing the study's primary endpoint. The value of Northfield's stock plunged 43 percent on the news.
The whole field of blood substitutes has been plagued by safety concerns and controversies over testing methods. In the trial, 11.1 percent of trauma patients receiving Polyheme died compared to 9.1 percent of the people who didn't. Also, 40 percent of patients receiving Polyheme experienced severe adverse events compared to 35 percent of patients who did not get it.
"We continue to believe there is a potential benefit to using PolyHeme in patients with delayed access to blood," said Steven Gould, chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.
- here's the report on the data from the Chicago Tribune
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