Omeros hit after kidney disease trial results

Omeros Corp. OMER, -42.81% shares dropped nearly 45% in Monday afternoon trade after the company released results from a phase 2 trial testing its OMS721 therapy in a progressive kidney disease called immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy. The trial measured reductions in protein levels in patients’ urine, called proteinuria, the “most reliable prognostic factor for loss of kidney function” in this disease. The most recent results were based on a group of nine patients who had not received corticosteroid treatment and had a high risk of disease progression, or “a difficult-to-treat population,” according to Jonathan Barratt, professor of renal medicine at the University of Leicester. Of those individuals, median reductions in proteinuria after 12 weeks of therapy were very similar: 18.4% for OMS721 and 18% for placebo groups. Omeros continued to treat patients after 12 weeks, and of those eight patients, median proteinuria reductions were nearly 56%, the company said. Four individuals on Omeros’ therapy in the dosing-extension period had reductions of between 53.9% and 67.8%, it said. The company continues to treat patients in this dosing-extension period and plans to present additional data at a future medical meeting. IgA nephropathy’s most common symptoms are blood in the urine and foamy urine, according to the American Kidney Foundation, and doctors try to slow down the disease’s characteristic kidney damage. It affects an estimated 1 in 1,400 individuals in the U.S. and currently has no approved treatments, according to Omeros. Omeros shares have dropped nearly 26% over the last three months, compared with a 7.7% rise in the S&P 500 SPX, +0.36% and a nearly 10% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.73%

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/omeros-stock-drops-45-after-kidney-disease-trial-results-2018-10-01