Irvine-based Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s shares fell sharply Friday, a day after the company said that its experimental dry eye drug didn’t meet the main goal of a late-stage clinical trial.
Ista’s shares closed down about 31% with a market value of about $168 million.
The drug maker said the study required its Remura drug candidate to show a statistically significant improvement over a placebo.
The company said in a statement that it is conducting a separate clinical study for Remura. Results from that study are expected in this year’s fourth quarter.
Ista also was downgraded by St. Louis-based investment bank Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
On Thursday, Ista posted a second-quarter profit of $12.8 million, which included a non-cash valuation gain of $19 million.
Wall Street had expected profits of $2.5 million. Analyst estimates generally exclude gains or charges.
Ista said that its quarterly loss on a non-cash basis was $4.2 million.
Revenue came in at $37.1 million, up 6% from 2010’s second quarter but below analysts’ estimate of $41.9 million.
