Miravant's eye treatment disappoints
Stock plunges after firm says drug failed to meet goal
By Ted Griffith, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:28 PM ET Jan. 14, 2002
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Miravant Medical Technologies plummeted 75 percent Monday after the company said its experimental eye disease treatment produced disappointing results in patient testing.
Shares of Miravant (MRVT: news, chart, profile) closed down $7.31 to $2.44 after earlier touching an all-time low of $2.05.
The company said late Sunday that its experimental drug, known as SnET2, apparently failed to meet its effectiveness goal in late-stage testing on patients with an eye disease called age-related macular degeneration. More than 900 patients took part in the trial.
Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over 50, the company said.
Miravant said it had been working on the drug with pharmaceutical company Pharmacia (PHA: news, chart, profile). Shares of Pharmacia edged down 18 cents to $41.10. A major drugmaker, Pharmacia is not seen as being as dependent as Miravant on the SnET2 drug.
In a statement, Miravant CEO Gary Kledzik said the company plans to review the patient testing data further and then decide how to proceed.
"We have always recognized the challenges of developing a treatment for this serious vision-threatening disease," Kledzik said in the statement.
In addition to developing drugs, Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Miravant is working on developing medical devices. |
