Valeant's Retigabine Fails In Shingles Pain Study

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (AP) — Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said Monday its drug candidate retigabine did not meet its goal in a mid-stage clinical trial.

The trial was designed to evaluate retigabine as a treatment for post-shingles pain, and was intended to help Valeant find the most effective dose of the drug. But the company said the drug was not as effective as it expected.

Valeant called the results "inconclusive" and suggested the design and short duration of the trial might be to blame. The company is still analyzing data from the study.

In morning trading, its stock lost $1.90, or 7 percent, to $25.27.

The study involved 187 patients, who were given either retigabine or a placebo once per day for up to 10 weeks. The drug was given in doses of 300 mg to 900 mg per day. In the last week of the trial, patients rated their pain on a scale of zero to 10, to see if retigabine was more effective at reducing that pain.

Valeant is also testing retigabine as a treatment for epilepsy, and said its plans to file for Food and Drug Administration approval in epilepsy are not affected by Monday's results. The company is developing the drug through a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline PLC.