Investors sent shares of Vasogen into a tailspin this morning after the drug developer announced that Celacade had missed its primary endpoint--reducing death and hospitalization--in a pivotal study of its effect on chronic heart failure. The company also said that the drug hit an endpoint in significantly reducing hospitalization among a subgroup of 692 patients with less advanced heart disease in the Phase III trial. Vasogen shares lost more than 60 percent of their value.
"We are very encouraged by the strong effects" for patients with less advanced stages of heart disease, said David Elsley, president and CEO of Vasogen, in a statement that proved less than persuasive for shareholders.
- here's the AP report on Celacade