Orlando, FL 4/2/12 (StreetBeat) – Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: KERX) and Aeterna Zentaris (Nasdaq: AEZS) said their experimental drug for colorectal cancer did not meet the main goal of prolonging survival in a late-stage trial.Shares of Keryx lost two-thirds of their value and fell to a nearly two-and-a-half-year-low of $1.63 in early trade on Monday to become the biggest percentage loser on Nasdaq. It was the most traded stock on the exchange.
Aeterna's stock tanked 67 percent to a two-year-low of 69 Canadian cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The 468-patient trial showed that the companies' drug, KRX-0401 (perifosine), failed to improve overall survival in patients with refractory advanced colorectal cancer when compared with the control arm.
The drug is also being tested in patients with multiple myeloma.
With a negative outcome from the late-stage colorectal study, we believe recruitment into the multiple myeloma study could become increasingly difficult, the company said in a conference call.
"We will evaluate whether our Phase 3 study of Perifosine in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma will continue as planned," Keryx's Chief Executive Ron Bentsur said in a statement.
Keryx holds the North American rights to the experimental cancer drug KRX-0401 (perifosine), through a licensing deal with Canadian biotech company Aeterna Zentaris.
In August 2011, an independent safety panel gave its go-ahead for the experimental drug and recommended the late-stage study continue to completion.
Keryx will now focus its efforts on its drug Zerenex, for treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with renal disease on dialysis.
Zerenex is currently undergoing a second late stage trial, and topline data from this trial is expected by the year-end.
The drug could target a market of $1.5 billion worldwide and $700 to $750 million in the United States, Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Matthew Kaplan told Reuters.
Keryx expects to file the new drug application for Zerenex in the first quarter of 2013.
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