Medicines Company Slips on Blood Pressure-Drug Move
Updated from 12:35 p.m. EST
Shares in
The Medicines Company
(MDCO) - Get Report
sank on news that the company had halted enrollment of patients in trials of its blood pressure drug Clevelox because it caused irregular heartbeat more often than comparable drugs.
Shares closed at $22.27 Monday, down $1.90 or 7.86%, on heavy volume. Shares were down as much as 13%.
Clevelox is an experimental blood pressure-reducing drug for patients undergoing heart surgery for use before, during and after surgery. In an interim safety analysis of the drug, incidence of atrial fibrillation was within the range typically shown in patients undergoing heart surgery, but was much higher than with similar medications. The Parsippany, N.J.-based company now expects to delay filing a new drug application for Clevelox until after this year.
"We find these results puzzling, because atrial fibrillation rates on Clevelox were not high compared to expectations," said Clive Meanwell, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Medicines Company. "However, low reported rates of atrial fibrillation in comparator groups led to a difference we cannot ignore."
Five phase III trials to study the safety and efficacy of the drug are continuing. The company plans to conduct further clinical studies to make sense of the interim findings.
The company will continue its focus on Angiomax, an anticoagulant for patients undergoing angioplasty.