June 1 (Reuters) – Praxis Precision Medicines said on Monday its experimental epilepsy drug failed to meet the main goal of a mid- to late-stage study, prompting it to pause enrollment in another ongoing study while it reassesses the program.
Shares of the biotech firm fell more than 12% in extended trading.
Here are some details:
• The drug, vormatrigine, was being tested in adults with focal onset seizures (FOS), a type of epilepsy where seizures begin in one part of the brain.
• Praxis said the treatment missed the main goal of reducing monthly seizure frequency, but met a secondary measure where more patients saw at least a 50% reduction in seizures.
• The trial was studying the drug’s safety and efficacy in adults with FOS who are concurrently taking at least one but no more than three acceptable anti-seizure medications.
• The company said seizure reduction was more pronounced in the second half of the study, when patients received the higher 30 mg dose.
• “We think it is crucial to recognize that investors had not been giving much credit to this asset,” Piper Sandler analyst Yasmeen Rahimi said, adding that pausing enrollment in the second study was the “right call”.
(Reporting by Kunal Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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