Just bought in 10k at $2.85. Maybe should have waited a bit longer, but it should rebound and close down 25%.
Resverlogix Corp. fell in Torontotrading, extending a drop of 30 percent yesterday, after newresearch on the company’s experimental cholesterol pill todaywas overshadowed by “very impressive” results from Merck & Co.
Resverlogix fell 18 percent to C$3.68 at 12:16 p.m. NewYork time in Toronto Stock Exchange trading. Shares of theCalgary-based company gained 86 percent this year before today.
The company’s medicine, RVX-208, aims to increase levels ofapolipoprotein A-1, a protein associated with good cholesterol.The drug boosted that protein in research reported today fromthe second of three stages of tests generally needed for U.S.approval, though the result wasn’t statistically significant.Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, today said itsdrug, anacetrapib, raised good cholesterol and slashed badcholesterol in a separate study.
“The Resverlogix trial was good -- not a huge success; itdidn’t knock it out of the park, but it worked,” Simos Simeonidis, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw LLC, said in atelephone interview today. “The Merck trial is very impressive-- it’s a huge success for them.”
The Resverlogix study, of 299 coronary artery-diseasepatients, showed that people on the highest dose of RVX-208 --300 milligrams a day -- had an 8.3 percent increase in HDLlevels by the end of 12 weeks compared with those taking aplacebo. Some patients treated with the drug had significantincreases in liver enzymes, which were reversible and showed noevidence of liver damage, the researchers said.
‘Came Close’
“I’m not concerned about the fact that they didn’t reachstatistical significance,” Simeonidis said. “The fact thatthey came close and didn’t meet it I don’t see as an issue. Ifthat happened in phase three, you’d have to redo the trial.”
Researchers said the drug boosted good cholesterol, or HDL,which helps decongest arteries, though raising HDL wasn’t theprimary goal of the trial.
“It was a very successful study,” Resverlogix ChiefExecutive Officer Donald McCaffrey said today in a telephoneinterview. “Everything we wanted to see in this particulartrial, we saw. It’s very good news for us.”
Resverlogix has started another phase 2 trial of RVX-208,using intravascular ultrasound to measure changes in plaque inpatients with coronary artery disease treated with the drug. Thecompany will be able to fund that trial itself, McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey said he is seeking funding for final-stagetrials. “We’re in detailed discussions with pretty much everymajor pharmaceutical company,” he said. “They understand ourdata was highly successful today.”
Merck Results
Merck’s anacetrapib had a 40 percent drop in badcholesterol and a 138 percent rise in the good cholesterol thatferries fat from the blood, a study today found.
Merck shares rose 54 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $34.64 at12:26 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Thestock dropped 6.7 percent this year before today.
Resverlogix and Merck each reported study results at theAmerican Heart Association meeting in Chicago.
“The Merck trial definitely doesn’t bode well forResverlogix in terms of competition,” Simeonidis said. “Itcreates a lot more risk for Resverlogix because it has tocompete with someone who’s ahead of them. It doesn’t mean theirdrug couldn’t get to the market and sell $1 billion worth.Merck’s drug is much further ahead.”
To contact the reporter on this story:Meg Tirrell in New York atmtirrell@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.
Last update: 2:26 PM ET, Nov 17