The Food and Drug Administration placed Kura Oncology's (KURA) leukemia study on partial hold Wednesday after a patient died — and the biotech stock plummeted.
Kura is testing its drug, dubbed KO-539, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Researchers believe the patient's death is tied to differentiation syndrome, a known side effect in acute myeloid leukemia treatment, Kura said in a news release. Potentially fatal, differentiation syndrome can cause fever, low blood pressure, weight gain and breathing complications.
As a result, Kura can't enroll new patients in the study — a bearish point for the biotech stock. But already enrolled patients can continue to receive KO-539. Patients in the study have relapsed or their cancer doesn't respond to other drugs.
In morning trading on the stock market today, Kura stock tumbled 20.7% near 13.15. That would put the biotech stock at its lowest point since May 2020.
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