Rich, Here's what the San Diego Union said yesterday:
Amylin trips on poor test results | Trial of diabetes drug
disappoints; stock falls
Kristin Jensen and Kristin Reed
BLOOMBERG NEWS
19-Aug-1997 Tuesday
The shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals fell 43 percent yesterday after the
company said a study showed its diabetes drug didn't significantly improve
long-term metabolic functioning in adult-onset diabetics.
Shares of San Diego-based Amylin fell $6.438 to close at $8.438, making the
stock the biggest percentage loser in U.S. markets and the 13th most
actively traded stock.
The company reported the study results late Friday after the market closed.
The experimental drug, known as pramlintide, did help Type I, or
juvenile-onset, diabetics control their blood sugar levels when measured
at both six and 12 months. However, it only showed similar benefit at six
months for patients with Type II, or adult-onset, diabetes, the company
said.
Over a 12-month period, the drug didn't show a significant benefit for Type
II diabetics, the company said. Type II diabetes is the most common form of
diabetes and represents the largest market for the drug.
"We found the results disappointing," said analyst Albert Rauch of Everen
Securities. He downgraded the stock to "underperform" from a "buy" rating.
"I think it's going to be very difficult to demonstrate efficacy in type
II," Rauch said.
Other analysts said that parts of the study looked promising and that
ongoing studies could prove the drug's benefits for specific types of
patients.
"People tend to run for the hills when there's bad news in biotech stocks,"
said Bill Tanner, an analyst with Principal Financial Securities. "If you
sit down and understand the story, this is not the time to be panicking."
Johnson & Johnson, which co-sponsored the study, plans to continue
collaborating with Amylin in developing pramlintide.
"We are going to continue to work with Amylin to complete the studies and
work toward registration with the FDA," said Jeffrey Leebaw, a spokesman
for Johnson & Johnson. "We're going to keep going."
The large drop in Amylin's shares is "an overreaction to what should be
construed as positive, albeit somewhat preliminary data," said analyst
Michael King of Vector Securities, who said he never expected the study to
be a "black-or-white" outcome.
"Obviously someone was looking for instant gratification, and they didn't
get it," King said.
Richard Krawiec, Amylin's director of corporate communications, said the
study provided an important proof of concept of the way the drug works.
Pramlintide is a synthetic version of human hormone amylin, which is absent
in insulin-using diabetics.
Amylin said the company and Johnson & Johnson are committed to development
of the drug for both type I and type II patients and will continue four
other trials of the drug, designed around the insulin-dose changes.
Type II diabetes is the most common form of the diabetes, often striking
later in life. Though some forms of the condition can be controlled with
changes in diet and exercise, other type II patients must use insulin
injections to control their glucose levels.
The company's studies were designed to prove that amylin replacement
therapy in insulin-using diabetics could help them control their metabolism
without common side effects of insulin therapy, such as weight gain and
sudden dips in blood sugar. |
