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Forest Drug Disappoints
By Robert Steyer (Related)
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
6/1/2007 9:18 AM EDT
Click here for more stories by Robert Steyer (Related)
Forest Laboratories (FRX (Related) - Cramer's Take (Related) - Stockpickr (Related) ) said Thursday that an experimental stroke-treatment drug failed to achieve its goal in a late-stage clinical trial.
The company and its development partner, Germany's Paion AG , said the drug desmoteplase didn't outperform a placebo in assessing how patients responded after receiving the drug within three to nine hours of exhibiting symptoms.
"These data are surprising and are not consistent with previously observed patterns in
[other clinical]
trials and larger size, placebo-controlled acute stroke trials," the companies said in a press release issued after the market had closed. "The absence of consistency with previous findings is not easy to explain, but in-depth analyses are planned to better understand the data."
Forest said it will review the study "over the coming weeks to determine the appropriate next steps and its role regarding U.S. development" of the drug. Shares of Forest fell 2.4% in late trading.
Desmoteplase is a genetically engineered clot-dissolver derived from the saliva of a vampire bat, and it is one of several experimental compounds that Forest has cited as potential, big contributors to future sales.
These compounds will take on extra importance (Related) early in the next decade when Forest's two best-sellers -- the antidepressant Lexapro and the Alzheimer's disease drug Namenda -- lose patent protection. They now account for 80% of total revenue.
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