NO crap shot!
Only significant and important failure.
Delay with LEP, NEOL:
Tuesday January 15, 5:52 pm Eastern Time
NeoPharm CEO confirms delay of cancer drug trials
NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The chief executive of NeoPharm Inc. (NasdaqNM:NEOL - news) confirmed on Tuesday its lead cancer drug will take longer than expected to begin late-stage clinical trials, potentially delaying its launch.
After a meeting with its partner, drug company Pharmacia Corp. (NYSE:PHA - news), NeoPharm said it is no longer confident the drug will reach Phase III clinical trials by the first half of this year. Pharmacia, which is responsible for developing the drug, was not immediately available for comment.
Lake Forest, Illinois-based NeoPharm's shares have fallen 28 percent since Friday, when UBS Warburg analyst Andrew Gitkin published a report voicing uncertainty over Pharmacia's ability to rapidly move forward with the drug. Today NeoPharm's chief executive confirmed Gitkin's view.
``We don't feel comfortable that they're ready to start a clinical trial in the first half of this year,'' said CEO Jim Hussey.
The delay gives competitors greater opportunity to get rival products to the market ahead of NeoPharm's. Hussey conceded the risk and said the decline in the company's shares reflects the risk.
``If you want to avoid volatility, buy a bond,'' he said.
Hussey said he can't give a timescale for when the drug, LEP, will go into late-stage trials. Neither could he say what is causing Pharmacia to delay the trial.
``That's for them to talk about,'' he said. ``My concern is to be as forthright with investors with news that is negative as I am with news that is positive.''
NeoPharm's shares fell $1.59, or 8.1 percent to close Tuesday at $18.05. |
